The Board of Supes, by a 10-2 vote, just undid decades of careful planning work in North Beach and the surrounding neighborhoods, opening the path for larger storefronts and bigger businesses and less diversity in the local shops.

District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter pitched his deregulation bill as a way to address vacant storefronts, but his critics, including businesses like City Lights Books, Tony’s Pizza and Spec’s, say the neighborhood is thriving, and this is a solution in search of a problem.

And, as Sup. Shamann Walton noted, the city has approved taxes on vacant storefronts, “and we should use the tools we have.”

Sauter’s plan eliminates the North Beach Special Use District, which limits the size of commercial space to protect smaller businesses that can’t afford the rent of lar

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