"Due to homeowners’ fences encroaching on an easement behind the building, there is not enough room for surrounding businesses to place trash hauling in the back, according to a city staff report".
Have the homeowners move back the "encroaching" fencing.

Councilman Wayne Lee, who also reviewed Tao’s proposal on the Planning Commission. “You have to just take what you can get.”
No you do not.

Why do you have to take what you can get ???????? Is this the way business is done in Millbrae?????Really!!

And how would a Mexican restaurant (which backed out) be European food?
With all the empty storefronts on the peninsula, I often wonder how the owners can stand to have a property vacant for so long, or what a city must be doing to encourage/discourage business.
If this new restaurant -- no matter what kind of cuisine it features -- offers good food and good service and manages to be a success, it will be a lot nicer for Millbrae than a decrepit, empty storefront.

Forget food for a moment. Who would like to see a larger selection of drinking establishments that serve a better variety of quality beer, wine, and cocktails?

'My bad. I don't mean to derail this conversation. I'll just blog about what I mentioned later and we'll talk then.

can we try at least give Millbrae a new look? we need more non Asian restaurants. We need more nicer stores (see Burlingame)

The city council has been turning down permits for mostly Chinese restaurants for 10 years since I was in high school. Just the fact the council states they'd "like" to see more diversity in restaurants already sets up the expectation that restaurants of a certain Asian type will be turned down and the numbers of turn downs I even know personally over the last 10 years speaks volumes. I have friends and acquaintances who would have loved to open up businesses in Millbrae but were discouraged by the red tape.

If diversity was your goal, why do we need ANOTHER hot pot place? Now there's three hot pot places in Millbrae...

I personally wouldn't mind to see an Indian restaurant in Millbrae but you can't artificially force demand for food that has no demand guys.

There will now be three Japanese restaurants in a one block radius. If you want to
know how business friendly our Planning Commission is, just call corp. management
of In and Out Burger. They will tell you how they were treated here in Millbrae when
applying for applications. Considering the excellent reputation In and Out Burger has
all over our state, our city should have lain out the red carpet. Instead our Planning
Commission made fools of themselves with their negative approach to a very well
respected company. Our city needs lots of help .. they have hired consultants over the years, paid considerable amounts of money for consultants to give ideas on how
we could turn our town into a more vibrant community. Nothing changes.
Construction designs that look out of place, no set flow of what fits our city, just
one large unattractive design after another. What profitable company would want
to come here.....Sad state of affairs!

I don't have examples of outright rejections nor do I want to name names of people I know, but the Kitchen in Millbrae had a lot of trouble before it opened in 2006. Fat Wongs in San Bruno opened there because Millbrae wasn't as accomodating. A ex employee,of Fat Wong's has opened Cooking Papa in Foster City and there's a location in Santa Clara.

I have had a few Chinese friends feel absolutely discouraged about opening a business in Millbrae. One wanted to do a Chinese bakery but experiences we've heard about discouraged him.

The proof is in the pudding as they say. I wish I was more involved in city affairs so I could name names, but I was in college during what I consider the most restrictive years 2002-2007.

Definitely. I'll ask my Baker friend sometime.

I remember the old owner of Tapioca Express and NCK, he had problems. Unfortunately he passed away from cancer.

Can we get business in Millbrae? Actual business that pays taxes? The city council complains about the lack of funds to pay for city services but we need money coming in to pay for them. And quit voting for special assessments on property tax - build a stronger commercial base but by definition does that only include restaurants? If we had strong anchor stores, such as an Apple store, perhaps more retailers would be enticed to come here. Sporting goods, books, culinary, Bev-mo, home repair, fancy food? Bring in the chain stores too, they have more class than most of the stuff going in.

This is striking for two reasons. First, this seems wrong on so many levels. Second, the majority of people who posted brought up issues that speak to the council, not Asian restaurant owners.

Is the issue really diversification? Why is the city council denying rejecting Asian restaurants, as Doug stated, without alternative options? For example, why would they deny In and Out Burger, as Erin revealed, or dismiss the possibility of the anchor stores that John mentioned? During the current void of sound alternatives, Heidi pointed out that quality restaurants would still be better than empty storefronts.

Maria pointed out the encroaching fencing could be moved back. According to the article, Planning Commission Chair Lorrie Kalos-Gunn said, "You can’t put the burden on one business owner for an entire block. It’s just not fair and equitable.” Yet Belle Tao must pressure wash her sidewalk even though other businesses on the block are not required to do so.

This does not sound like diversification. It sounds like discrimination. Mayor Colapietro mentions Indian restaurants as non-Asian, but is apparently unaware that Indians are East Asians. If the city council doesn't want specific types of Asian restaurants, don't hide behind bureaucracy. Own up to it, and explain why treatment of owners such as Tao is helping the current economy and attracting a wide spectrum of potential businesses.

or how about...if moving back the encroaching fences (were permits obtained?) is seen as an "inconvenience" , then reassess those properties to include the "acquired" property/encroached easement . There, Millbrae has 2 solutions. : )