The town of San Juan Bautista fairly oozes history and charm. A
210-year-old mission, adobe storefronts, galleries and good
restaurants ought to attract tourists like bees to blooming
flowers.
The town of San Juan Bautista fairly oozes history and charm. A 210-year-old mission, adobe storefronts, galleries and good restaurants ought to attract tourists like bees to blooming flowers.
But business boosters in San Juan Bautista say that’s not the case – at least not these days.
Carolyn Roe-Gargiola, who owns a gift shop and is vice president of the Mission City’s chamber of commerce, said tour buses used to stop there regularly. But over the past three years, Roe-Gargiola recently told the city council, tour buses have become a rarity and the number of visitors has dropped sharply.
At this month’s council meeting, Roe-Gargiola suggested that opening public restrooms might make San Juan Bautista more welcoming to visitors. But she was adamant about one thing that would not: Chain and franchise businesses like Starbucks and McDonald’s.
The council is considering adopting an ordinance dealing with “formula businesses” – franchises and chains that adhere to regional or national requirements regarding appearance and business practices. The ordinance under consideration would replace one – adopted in 2004, but later inadvertently deleted from city code – that banned all such businesses.
The new ordinance would relax the pre-existing restrictions to allow exemptions for stores that address unmet community needs. In a town without a hardware store, for example, such an exemption would permit a business affiliated with, say, Ace or True Value. The council is expected to vote on the proposed new ordinance at its next monthly meeting.
While we support the proposed ordinance, we also agree with Roe-Gargiola and others who told the council that businesses like Starbucks and McDonald’s would change San Juan Bautista’s character and harm the town’s tourist appeal.
San Juan Bautista’s identity and appeal are wrapped tightly in its history and that must be preserved. Much of the town’s character is derived from the one-of-a-kind shops found in the historic buildings in its business district. Something very significant would be lost if San Juan Bautista were to become like every other town in California.
City leaders must ensure that the relaxed restrictions won’t open the gates to development that damages the town’s historic character. At the same time, simply keeping the golden arches and green mermaids out won’t improve the town’s tourism climate. Neither will any restrictions that simply protect existing businesses against new competition.
The city needs to ensure that businesses can offer the goods and services that tourists demand. Hidden modernizations that allow local businesses to make, say, a great latte or burger won’t take anything away from the appeal of San Juan Bautista’s historic streetscape.
Once resolved, perhaps the present debate over formula businesses could lead to a discussion about ways to start bringing those tourists back to town.
