On Tuesday night, Brentwood City Councilwoman Karen Rarey requested a future agenda item calling for a moratorium on businesses such as coffee and bagel shops in a series of future requests.
“I’d like a future agenda item to introduce a moratorium on gas stations, coffee shops, bagel shops, discount dollar stores, storage businesses and any other business that is over-saturated in our town,” stated Rarey. “We are getting to the point where a lot of these things we don’t need anymore of in our city and so I would like to have staff put that on the agenda”.
She did not elaborate any further on that request or provide any details.
Rarey also asked for a Resolution to East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and Contra Costa County Fire supporting the consolidation as well as a Resolution to the Board of Supervisors to open and staff at least two more fire stations here in Brentwood. She also requested the city look at a landscape contract to go back to the planning commission along with working with the California League of Cities to work on limiting the Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and Junior ADU’s within the city.
It is unclear when the future agenda items will come back for discussion.
For video of the request, its at the 4:05:50 minute mark of the meeting . To view it, click here
25 comments
Way to go Karen, make Brentwood even more less business friendly than it already is. This is a stupid proposal and should be rejected by the rest of the City Council. Didn’t you hire a city manager with the intent to bring in more business? Not put chains on him with more restrictions.
“Things we don’t need any more of in our city”? According to whom? Ms. Rarey? What qualifies her to make that decision?
Unless you’re talking about businesses that are attractive nuisances for crime, let the market decide what “we don’t need any more of.”
All I can say is you are not qualified to make these kinds of proposals. The people of Brentwood want less building and more roads. Where have you been???
If such a business is opened & successful, then does that still mean that business is not needed in Brentwood? Better idea for local government – instead of making declarations of what business you don’t want to allow, put in the hard work to attract businesses you do want to come here.
This is why I had hoped for a special election to fill the empty council seat. I’m was unsure if Karen was the right person to fill.
I dont understand this statement of hers. Instead of limiting businesses, there should be help for the businesses currently here.
This is why she was not voted in as Mayor. Her ideas are just not what is good for Brentwood and appear to be her own personal crazy agenda. This is the same woman who has held Coffee with Karen over the past year. Brentwood does not need any of this. She is yet again pandering to a very small segment of the Brentwood anti no growth group. I guess she doesn’t want jobs or new business in the city.
Isn’t this the job of the planning department? As in – specifically to determine which businesses are in demand and which are not? If I were a commercial landlord in Brentwood right now I’d be fuming. COVID is turning commercial retail into a disaster for property owners. At the very least she needs to articulate what she sees as the actual problem a moratorium would solve for anyone.
Without the new Dutch Bros coffee shop Brentwood would still be unknown to most. The city can try and diversify business maybe offer incentives for first time business owners.
Who is she to make our decisions on what should or shouldn’t be. We need to give all businesses a chance to succeed in our city. That is the American way!
So what ECT forgot to tell you in this “article” is there is a reason Karen Rarey did not say more about this at last night’s meeting. She was placing a request to have an item put on the agenda for the next meeting, and no discussion is done until the item is on the agenda. There will be a discussion at the next meeting, as the item will be on the agenda and the public properly notified, as required by the Brown Act. From the comments here, this seems to be a particularly interesting topic with lots of opinions on both sides, so hopefully a lot of people will show up to make comments and hear their City Council Members’ discussion of the topic. ECT had a real opportunity to inform their readers and let them know how they can participate. Instead, they chose to put up a click bait headline, and make an unnecessary comment about how nothing more was said about this future agenda item.
@Rod… go to the video if you think I am leaving anything out. Its all right there.
This is such a bizarre thing for the councilwoman to.say.
It is trampling the rights of residents who either want to patronize another coffee shop, etc or prevents a person from.opening their dream.business. Must be a Marxist.
I agree, for Willy’s Bagels should dominate the world!
Well, hell. After checking her moratorium list, there aren’t many other kinds of businesses left. People vote with their wallets, so if there is an excess of coffee and bagel shops the least popular won’t succeed. Limiting the numbers is not well though out
1. Let me know when you find a real bagel within 25 miles.
2. A 1,500 calorie salted caramel mocha with extra whip is not coffee, it’s the reason you don’t fit into your clothes.
3. You just got your first dose of Karen.
You guys need more check cashing, pawn, mobile phone, and head shops.
Recall Karen Rarey from her seat.
???
Does anyone realize she can’t do anything without a majority vote. Are people on here putting the cart before the horse? She will sink or swim all by herself.
Yes, we definitely need MORE coffee shops. I can’t believe I had to drive 3 blocks for coffee. And don’t get me started on bagels. We need way more bagels than every grocery store, 2 Willy’s and countless other places. Brentwood should be the Bagel Capitol of the Bay!
Now Karen, please don’t start up any talk of putting a moratorium on convenient stores, discount stores, gas stations, mortgage brokers, and fast food restaurants. Brentwood only has a few thousand locations.
Well, I guess the coffee business I just started will have to open in another city nearby :/. Raised in Brentwood since I was six months old and wish I didn’t have to feel like the opportunity I’ve created for myself won’t have a place in the city I love.
Karen was elected. We need to stop electing Karens’. We need actual leadership to attract business that works and decided by the free market.
She was appointed, not elected.
I cannot live without WILLY’S BAGELS!
SEAN ACKEY! Please knock it off with blaming “KARENS” for every ill done to mankind! Why don’t you start putting the blame on JOANS or MARYS or SAMANTHAS! OK?
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