Politics & Government
Has Mill Valley Morphed Into Salon Valley?
In the wake of the approval of a new tween-focused hair salon and retail shop, some local business owners and city officials are asking themselves that question. Should City Hall step in?
The Mill Valley Planning Commission earlier this month approved a tween-focused hair salon and retail store, which is expected to open in early April at 23 Throckmorton Ave., the space currently occupied by Thread Lounge and for years before that by the Tamalpais General Store.
Benni’s, as the new salon and shop hybrid is called, will bring the number of hair salons in Mill Valley to 36, according to the Mill Valley Patch business directory. That number is a subset of the 84 business listed under the category of Beauty and Spas.
Is that too much for a town of less than 14,000 residents?
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Several local business owners and city officials say it is, with some planning commissioners saying that they felt their hands were tied in approving Benni’s since it met the city’s zoning requirements and there is no law on the books that calls for the city to regulate the proliferation of certain types of businesses in town.
As the city is in the midst of updating its General Plan for the first time since 1989, that could change.
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So what do you think? Should the city change its policy and be able to step in when there are too many of certain types of businesses in town?
Vote in our poll below and let us know your thoughts in the Comments section.
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