BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Wednesday proposed zoning changes that the city says would let new owners reopen existing restaurants within weeks rather than months.

The first change would rewrite the city's zoning definition of a restaurant. Under current rules, takeout service is treated as a separate use. The city said that can trigger an additional zoning review even when a new owner takes over a restaurant or coffee shop without changing how it operates. Restaurant owners told the city those reviews can delay openings for months while they pay rent on a closed business.

The proposal would end zoning review triggered only by takeout. The Boston Licensing Board would still oversee restaurants. City officials said the change is expected to cut the time it takes a new owner to open an existing restaurant from four months to less than two weeks, saving tens of thousands of dollars. They said coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops that rely entirely on takeout would benefit most.

The BPDA board will consider the change first. The city will then petition the Zoning Commission to review it.

"Boston is cutting through red tape so entrepreneurs can open their doors sooner," Wu said in a statement.

The city's Planning Department also plans a broader review of restaurant zoning in commercial and mixed-use districts. The aim is to allow restaurants in more areas, building on rezoning already done in Mattapan Square, Roslindale Square, downtown and East Boston.

The city is also rewriting its online guidance for opening or buying a restaurant. The new guidance will describe a simplified process for getting a common victualler license, a food service permit and an entertainment license when only a restaurant's ownership changes.

Steve Clark, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said the change "will streamline the regulatory process."

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency or political press release and published by The New England Signal. Why we use AI for stories like this one.