Los Angeles reviews taxes and fees that hurt small businesses as Bass tries to break down barriers

BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass met with business owners Friday as the city works to speed up the permitting process.

At Mexicanos 3030 restaurant in Boyle Heights, Bass continued her listening tour with small business owners to find out what’s stopping them from being financially successful.

“Even to get a permit, you go to town and they tell you no,” said restaurant owner Juan SanJuan. “The health inspector tells you that’s wrong.”

Bass told Eyewitness News an issue that was particularly close to her heart involved parking and street sweeping schedules.

RELATED: LA Mayor Bass Signs Policy Removing Barriers to Small Businesses

“If sweeping times are between 8 a.m. and noon and your streets are swept at 8:30 a.m., why can’t you park after that?” Bass said.

For many, the answer is always the same: the city’s slow approval process.

The owners of 1111 LA Experiencia have been paying rent for nearly a year, but the store is far from ready to open.

“I spend all day trying to figure out where to submit my plans… We should have been open three to four months ago,” SanJuan said. “It was a year-long process to open such a big little restaurant.”

Ninety days after enacting an executive order aimed at supporting the city’s 50,000 owned and operated businesses, the mayor has announced that process delays will be addressed, virtual and in-person counter services have been added for those seeking to open a business, and the City taxes and fees are reviewed.

“Living in LA has become too expensive,” Bass said. “What helps? Small businesses are the number one employers, so their success depends on making Los Angeles more affordable. All of these issues are interrelated.”

The city has also created a small business task force to include those who know the challenges better than anyone – small business owners – in the policy change process.