By Carly Graf : sfexaminer – excerpt
Restaurants and shopowners hit with hefty new fees and fines.
When the pandemic hit, droves of people who found themselves stuck inside rushed out to get puppies.
That’s when Lynnet Spiegel knew she needed to figure out how to bring her pet store outdoors.
Fortunately, it’s also when San Francisco officials created Shared Spaces, a program that allowed for parking spots, sidewalks and other public spaces to be used for commercial activity — commonly known as parklets…
Nearly 18 months since she built her parklet, Spiegel recently received multiple citations threatening fines if she doesn’t make structural changes, including lowering its side walls, moving plant potters from the sidewalk and trimming the roof…
“As we move into a permanent program, the quickly-built structures need to adjust for long-term use,” said Robin Abad, who oversees the parklet initiative. “We have turned a crisis response into an enduring opportunity to reimagine the use of our streets to benefit the people who live, work and visit here.”…(more)