Council adopts conservative eligibility for small‑business micro‑stabilization grants; fee waiver rules tightened

The City Council on July 14 directed staff to use updated, narrower criteria for the city’s micro‑stabilization grant program and clarified a companion fee‑waiver program for post‑fire recovery. Staff reported that the city received 157 micro‑grant applications during the May open window totaling about $2.8 million against a $3.3 million budget. Because submissions exceeded staff’s capacity to award across the board, the Administration & Finance subcommittee recommended additional eligibility criteria to maximize the public benefit of awards and to prioritize small, local businesses. Key criteria the council adopted include: - Applicants must have a brick‑and‑mortar location within Malibu city limits; home‑based businesses or businesses located outside the city are ineligible. - Priority is for small businesses that operate up to three locations of the same brand; national chains or companies with many similar locations were deprioritized. - Grants must be used to sustain ongoing operations (rent, payroll, reopening costs) rather than to finance new lines of business that do not support local economic recovery. - Where a single owner controls multiple business locations within Malibu, staff recommended awarding the owner in a way that spreads funds to the greatest number of operating local businesses. On fee waivers, staff presented a revised program that narrows eligibility and strengthens enforcement. The council approved staff’s recommendation to exclude fees charged by other jurisdictions or agencies (state and county) from waiver eligibility (the city can only waive city‑level fees). Council members also deleted a proposed waiver for fee requests related to time extensions, reasoning that allowing time‑extension fee waivers would weaken incentives for timely rebuilding. Staff will require recorded affidavits and other documentation for applicants as a condition of waiver eligibility to prevent resale or circumventing the program; staff said it will maintain records and conditions of approval to ensure any required refunds are collected prior to final certificate of occupancy if eligibility changes. Council members said the adopted criteria are conservative by design: they strike a balance between helping small local firms reopen and protecting public resources. Staff will convene the A&F subcommittee to finalize awards using the updated criteria and return with recommended award lists and administrative guidelines for council confirmation.