The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday to streamline the lengthy, complex permitting process for small businesses amid the rise of empty storefronts in the city.

The ordinance, first introduced in December by Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Vallie Brown, eases zoning codes, eliminates duplicative inspections and standardizes local laws to match state regulations. The efforts will reduce costs, barriers and time for small businesses, according to city officials.

“We have to get rid of the barriers and delays that get in the way of trying to open and run a small business in this city. People should be spending time serving their customers and our neighborhoods, not trying to navigate city bureaucracy,” Breed told The Chronicle in an emailed comment.

The move comes as vacancies have risen across the city over the past few years and existing small businesses are stymied from coming up with new ways to make revenue. For example, in San Francisco, a laundromat interested in serving coffee to its patrons must offer accessible bathrooms, a law that governs food businesses. The ordinance eliminates that requirement pending additional review.

“Our small business people will find new revenue streams and they will fill vacancies — but they need our support,” District 5 Supervisor Vallie Brown said via email.

It also makes it easier to serve wine and small batch beers in restaurants and bars. And approvals were streamlined to open arcades with video games or other devices like pinball, and to open general entertainment businesses in Japantown’s upper floors and in the Castro. Permits around police inspections were also streamlined.

Brown said the city needs to do its part in clearing the path as much as possible by actively and continuously “revisiting outdated and unduly burdensome aspects of our codes to keep up with the times.”

A city study found that it took more than eight months for businesses to receive permits to open in neighborhood retail corridors between January 2015 and March 2018. Part of the delay often has been the lack of coordination between city agencies.

“Many people are aware high rents and online competition are affecting retail in San Francisco. What we found is city processes are also a factor and add to the commercial vacancy,” said Fred Brousseau, a principal at Harvey M. Rose Associates, whose firm was commissioned to write the report.

The legislation aims to provide more permits over the counter to reduce the months — and in some cases, years — some small business owners wait for permit applications to move through city departments.

Retailers and property owners have blamed lengthy permitting times for exacerbating the number of empty storefronts, which are rising in some areas such as North Beach.

The measure awaits a final hearing in September and, if approved, will head to Mayor Breed’s desk to be signed into law.

Shwanika Narayan and Roland Li are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com, roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Shwanika, @rolandlisf