(The Center Square) – Seattle’s new Economic Development Director Beto Yarce says he plans to ease city regulations to make it easier for retail establishments and other small businesses to open up in Seattle.
“We want a more streamlined process,” said Yarce in an interview with The Center Square. “We want to remove the barriers for small businesses.”
Seattle’s difficult process for opening a business has been an issue for years.
Last year, under the administration of former Mayor Bruce Harrell, changes were made to rules that often triggered expensive building upgrades when a new tenant moved into an older storefront that had been vacant for more than 24 months.
Buildings and tenant spaces with a gross area of 7,000 square feet or less became exempt from onerous “substantial alteration” requirements.
Those spared tenants and landlords the cost of expensive, building-wide safety and structural upgrades.
Yarce said those changes were positive, but he has begun analyzing city rules and regulations with the intent of easing additional regulations.
”It’s going to be a full review,” he said.
However, he did not name any specific changes he wanted to implement.
Yarce’s background
Yarce originally came to the United States from Mexico as an undocumented immigrant in 2003.
He ran his own craft business at the Pike Place Market, became a citizen, and ultimately served as a regional Small Business administrator under the Biden Administration.
He is also no stranger to politics, having unsuccessfully run for Seattle City Council in 2019.
He was named to his new city position by Mayor Katie Wilson on March 4.
He has served in an interim capacity until the city council’s expected approval of his nomination on June 2.
The Council’s Human Services, Labor, and Economic Development Committee cleared his appointment as permanent director on May 15.
Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes said he welcomes Yarce’s aim to cut red tape for small businesses.
“The city took meaningful steps last year to ease regulatory burdens on new businesses, and that progress is real — but permitting timelines, licensing complexity and the cost of navigating city processes remain barriers, especially for small business owners,” he said in a statement to The Center Square.
Yarce’s plans come as downtown Seattle still suffers from post-pandemic ills.
The downtown core maintains a 22% retail store vacancy rate due to reduced foot traffic, as many workers still haven’t returned to the office or jobs have moved to other cities.
Scholes said he hopes to work with Yarce to build momentum for downtown.
“A thriving downtown depends on a city that makes it easier to open your doors and keep them open,” he said.
In his role as the city’s top economic development director, Yarce said he will also aim to retain jobs in Seattle as he builds positive relationships with large, Seattle-based companies like Starbucks and Amazon.
He said he has yet to talk to Starbucks, though he will have a roundtable discussion with company officials in early June.
Yarce said he did not know if Starbucks CEO Brian Nicoll would be part of the discussion.
Starbucks announced last month that it is opening a regional headquarters in Nashville, where it will move several hundred employees from Seattle.
Yarce said he plans to tell Starbucks officials: “We want you here.”
He said it is imperative that the city develop a plan to keep Starbucks jobs in Seattle.
While he didn’t offer specific ideas on how to convince Starbucks to keep jobs here, he said he would be working with the mayor’s office to develop a plan.
He said it has also not been determined whether new business tax increases will be sought under Wilson’s administration.
Both Seattle and the state of Washington have implemented a variety of new business taxes on companies in recent years, which business groups have criticized for causing job losses.
Yarce said he has also been talking with Amazon officials but declined to provide specifics.
Amazon has moved at least 10,000 jobs from Seattle to Bellevue in the last several years amid concerns about Seattle increasing business taxes.
