The city-sponsored K2C2 plan, a planning study on Kendall Square and Central Square, also benefits the push. Some candidates said they would like to see the Cambridge City Council conduct research and enact similar reform for Harvard Square.

“We can zone for areas to allow small businesses to open up,” House said. “The K2C2 plan would help achieve this in terms of what to do when the local businesses are being priced out and making sure the residents don’t leave as well.”

Other candidates said they planned to combat the actions of landlords that partly stymie local business. Jefferson R. Smith encouraged an open dialogue among landlords and the city, remarking particularly on the tendency of landlords to hold out for longer contracts with tenants and thus leave storefronts empty for prolonged periods of time.

Yarden called for an even stricter approach to mitigate the effects of out-of-reach rent for small business owners.

“Everything is money. It’s not supply and demand. Rent control is a necessity. A big problem in Cambridge is the wealth,” Yarden said.

Although a plurality of candidates decried the exorbitant rent prices facing business owners in Harvard Square and Cambridge at large, many noted that the City Council would probably be unable to reverse the trend.

Current City Councillor Minka Y. vanBeuzekom, who is running for reelection, said that as long as property owners decide they want certain rent prices, the city wields little power to change the situation.

Candidate Logan E. Leslie ’16 said he agreed that the city can make little change.

“The only way to effectively bring rents down is to make [Harvard Square] a less attractive place to live,” Leslie said. “[Rents] probably will rise until businesses no longer want to be there.”

GETTING THROUGH THE SYSTEM

“I want Cambridge to be a place that’s accessible to everyone,” said candidate Luis Vasquez. “That doesn’t only mean for housing. That means business, as well.”

Despite that desire, the process of securing business licenses in Cambridge poses an obstacle for some potential tenants. The Cambridge License Commission issues licenses to aspiring business owners around the city and enforces rules regarding the sale of alcohol. The commission, which includes a chairman and representatives of the fire and police departments, holds hearings twice a month where they vote on the proposed licences.

Although a separate entity, the License Commission occasionally collaborates with the City Council. Mazen said that the current complexities of license acquisition mean that mainly those with millions of dollars for large projects have the ability to navigate the system, which threatens the small-business culture of the city.

“I’ve seen first hand how challenging it is, and if we're not going to rewrite the laws, we at least have to be proactive about educating people on how they can get throughout the system,” Mazen said.

Several of Mazen’s fellow candidates expressed a similar goal of streamlining the licensing process. Mushtaque Mirza said he hopes to create a more unified plan rather than granting licenses on an case-by-case basis.