SAN FRANCISCO BLOCKS CAPPUCCINO CREEP OF STARBUCKS

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ROBERT SELNA, SF CHRONICLE - Starbucks' effort to flood San Francisco
with coffee shops ground to a halt when the Board of Supervisors blocked
a new outlet in the Richmond District under chain store regulations
passed by voters last fall. . . Prop. G obligates the Planning
Commission to conduct a hearing for any chain store (also known as
"formula retail") proposed in neighborhood commercial districts. Formula
retail is defined as any retail sales establishment with 11 or more
stores in the United States that maintains two or more standardized
features, including decor, facade, color scheme, uniforms, signage or a
trademark. . .

Starbucks' project on Geary was the first to face a review before the
supervisors, the appellate body for Planning Commission decisions. The
board's decision to block the project was the second time the city has
denied Starbucks a permit to sell coffee in San Francisco. The company,
which boasts 80 locations in the city and 3,500 nationwide, was denied a
permit in 2003 when a Sunset group convinced the commission that a new
Starbucks was not appropriate for the neighborhood.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/12/BAJ3S3KBQ.DTL


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