Supervisors designate Japantown
as special use district

By Dan Powell

June 28, 2006

As Japantown celebrates its centennial this year, the Board of Supervisors approved a plan to designate the area as a special-use district to guard against developers and businesses they fear would dilute the unique flavor of the neighborhood.

"This is very common-sense legislation," Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said at yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting. "[It] calls for a community-driven process that's also fair to merchants and property owners, but one that protects the historical integrity, the cultural integrity, of Japantown."

Mirkarimi introduced the ordinance requiring conditional use authorization on Feb. 28.

Under the ordinance, the Planning Commission has the power to stop any activity that it believes would lessen the cultural or historic character of the area, including new franchise or chain stores.

The legislation comes in response to news that two hotels and two malls in Japantown were put up for sale by Kintetsu Enterprises of America, a Japanese company that has run the businesses since 1968. The buildings include the three-square-block Japantown mall, the Best Western Miyako Inn, and the Radisson Miyako Hotel.

"It was about four or five months ago when we were very alarmed that literally two-thirds of the whole territory of what we know as Japantown was being sold," Mirkarimi said.

Japantown has been around since 1906. At its height, the district encompassed some 25 city blocks. Over the years, that number has shrunk to about six.

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