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# Should Santa Monica require permits for chain stores downtown?
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/111703-story/
- Published: 2003-11-17T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:14:46.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Downtown, #archive-import

In an effort to limit the number of corporate chain stores downtown, the Santa Monica City Council last week considered a new law that would require the companies to go through a public hearing and obtain a special permit before they set up shop here. The goal would be to make corporations prove that their presence here would be a positive contribution to the downtown core.

Many residents and elected officials lament the loss of locally-owned business and complain that the Third Street Promenade has become like any other suburban shopping mall.

But local landlords, who can get as much as $10 a square foot on the Promenade, say it’s not the job of politicians to regulate the marketplace.

So this week, Q-Line wants to know, “Should the local government regulate what businesses can set up shop here?”

Call (310) 285-8106 with your response before Thursday at 5 p.m. We’ll print them in Friday’s paper. Please limit your comments to a minute or less. It might help to think first about the wording of your response.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 17, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/111703.pdf?ref=smdp.com)