Mayor Smiles On Small Businesses

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are now able to successfully start and grow in Boston without the lengthy process it took in the past due to several programs initiated by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

The Mayor is committed to making sure that small businesses throughout Boston are supported from concept to launch, including the highest level of customer support through the permitting process. These initiatives are a great start that will be user-friendly and improve the system for the small business community.

The city has placed seven digital kiosks at several agencies across the city that will connect constituents within two business days to the City of Boston business development specialist trained to assist small businesses.

In August, the Mayor launched a joint effort with the Department of Innovation and Technology and his office of New Urban Mechanics to host the City’s first ever Hubhacks Permitting Challenge, a project to reinvent the City’s online permitting experience, one of the most common ways that Bostonians interact with the City by reaching out to Boston’s technical community.

The Mayor has recently created a stream line Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) process for small businesses and 1-2 family owner occupied residential applications.

A ZBA subcommittee will meet biweekly on Thursday nights to hear zoning relief requests, aiding businesses and homeowners to make renovations to their properties.

These initiatives will not only make it much easier for the small business and certain landlords to improve but they will help generate additional revenues to the City.

            Neighborhood organizations that usually deal with many of these requests will benefit as well.