New city council bill would temporarily loosen restrictions on home-based businesses in Seattle Callie Craighead, Seattle P-I Feb. 24, 2021Updated: Feb. 24, 2021 3:25 p.m. 3 1of3 Yonder Cider Yonder Cider via Yelp • • • A new bill being considered in the Seattle City Council's Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee could loosen land use restrictions and provide more flexibility for microbusinesses operating out of homes or garages. The "Bringing Business Home" bill, proposed by Councilmember Dan Strauss and Council President Lorena Gonzalez, comes after the closure of Yonder Cider's "garage bar" retail site in Greenwood following a neighbor complaint that the business was operating too close to a church and school and blocking sidewalks. The retail site opened in August 2020 with a walk-up model amid the pandemic, selling growler fills and cans. The forced closure was highly unpopular, and the cidery received over 4,100 signatures on a petition of support. According to the city announcement, the bill would temporarily suspend these regulations for home-based businesses: • Customer visits are by appointment only • There is no evidence of the home-based business visible from the exterior of the structure • No more than two persons who are not residents of the building may work in a home-based business • The home-based business shall not cause a substantial increase in on-street parking congestion or a substantial increase in traffic within the immediate vicinity. This would allow for walk-up customers and lift employment restrictions. The bill would also allow these businesses to have a 720 square inch illuminated sign. The bill would loosen these restrictions for one year during the COVID- 19 pandemic with the hopes of helping small businesses and generating more economic activity. Strauss said that the bill will provide businesses with an alternative to high commercial rents while also adding vibrancy to neighborhoods. "For people who are licensed massage therapists, people who are mental health therapists, people who are operating their businesses out of their homes, they need to have the flexibility to survive an thrive during this pandemic," Strauss said. "Some of the most successful businesses started out of garages, and we should be doing what we can to support them." But some council members pushed back against the plan. Councilmember Debora Juarez said she could not support the bill in its current state. "Does that mean I can just open business in my driveway to compete with all the small businesses and restaurants four blocks away with none of the constraints of regulation, permitting and all of the things small businesses have to comply with?" Juarez said. "It seems to me that we may be creating an unfair playing field for those existing small businesses that we are indeed trying to protect and keep open." Councilmember Alex Pedersen also expressed some concerns in residential areas including traffic and how it could impact business districts. Yonder's founder, Caitlin Braam, expressed support for the bill and said that many people discovered the garage retail site simply on their daily walks. "Starting a small business – COVID or not – is hard and it’s expensive. Allowing small businesses to safely and securely operate out of their homes not only frees them of the financial burden and stress that come with long term commercial leases, it gives them a chance to be a vibrant and contributing part of their community," Braam said. The team at Yonder ultimately had a happy ending to their story: after closing their retail site, they partnered with Yakima's Bale Breaker Brewing to open a joint beer and cider taproom sometime in summer of 2021 in Ballard. The bill is expected for a full council vote on March 15. .