☆ Khamis' pro-business ideas validated—at long last—via streamlined permitting in SJ
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Over a decade ago, then-Council candidate Johnny Khamis proposed to “Fast Track” the City's permitting process for homeowners/businesses. Though criticized then as radical, his idea is now a reality via SJ's Best Prepared Designer and Self-Start Building Permits with Plan Review programs. In an Opp Now exclusive, Khamis celebrates this stride and thanks City leadership for prioritizing business-supportive reforms.
This is fantastic, and I'm glad we're headed in this direction. I wish we could have started these fast-tracked programs earlier—but better late than never.
This is a good first step. Moving forward, we need to continue looking for ways to streamline the building and planning processes, especially for those who don't have the bandwidth large corporations do (e.g., small and medium-sized businesses, which don't tend to have endless hours and dedicated staff to manage, track, and follow up on onerous permitting work).
I tried to push for a similar idea in my run for D10 Council. But it didn't go anywhere. San Jose's then-mayor didn't give it attention. But this mayor is. And it's crucial to have the support of the mayor behind a proposal like this; otherwise, it gets no traction, regardless of how needed and wanted it is by local homeowners and businesses. It's encouraging to see that our current mayor is focused, and showing that he's focused, on improving San Jose's business atmosphere. Reforming these processes clearly matters to him.
Additionally, I am encouraged by other things the mayor has done that I also advocated for in my career. For instance, I took a lot of heat from the ACLU because I wanted to expand the use of license plate readers to help reduce crime. And now they're doing it in San Jose, which is great. It makes it worth it to see progress even with some of the battle scars suffered, for introducing new ideas and getting needlessly shot down! Nonetheless, I'm very glad to see progress being made; I'm looking forward to what's next.
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