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Commission hears update on Legacy Business Registry and discusses emergency support, backlog and outreach
Summary
Planning and small-business staff briefed the commission on the Legacy Business Registry backlog (about 29 applications) and pandemic response; staff described grants, a University of Pennsylvania study, and plans to ramp staffing and plaque contract work. Commissioners and SF Heritage asked staff to pursue a letter to the Board of Supervisors to boost funding and prioritize registry businesses for emergency aid.
Planning staff and the Office of Small Business updated the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on May 6 about the Legacy Business Registry and program operations during the COVID‑19 emergency.
Shelley (historic preservation staff) said the Office of Small Business paused some routine registry reviews in February and March to prioritize administering business assistance grants, but that pause has ended. The department reported a backlog of about 29 pending legacy business applications (oldest from October), and staff said it could take roughly five months to clear that backlog once normal operations resume. A bronze‑plaque contract for enrolled legacy businesses is in its final stages and staff expected to begin deliverable work in May.
Richard (Rick) Carillo, who manages the legacy business program at the Office of Small Business, said the city issued business assistance grants in April and that legacy businesses are receiving regular email updates and one‑on‑one assistance. "We issued those [business assistance grants] in April," he said, and staff are also creating a legacy business showcase and providing social media promotional support for individual businesses.
Shelley described a planned 6‑week internship partnership with the University of Pennsylvania to develop a phased data‑collection and performance assessment for the program; the internship was expected to help set parameters for longer-term study. Regina Dicondrezi, director of the Office of Small Business, said the office will be monitoring receipt of federal relief (PPP, EIDL) and other indicators and expects a clearer assessment of pandemic impacts within two to three weeks.
Commissioners and SF Heritage urged more immediate support and recommended the commission consider a letter to the Board of Supervisors seeking increased funding and directing the city to use the registry to prioritize emergency aid. Woody Labonte of SF Heritage urged using the vetted registry for targeted emergency distribution and increasing the program's annual fund (he noted an historical annual fund of $1,000,000 distributed among an expanding list of enrolled businesses). Commissioners proposed a motion to prepare such a letter and to agendize it for formal action; the city attorney advised that an official letter from the commission requires a properly noticed agenda item, and staff agreed to agendize a draft action for the next available hearing (May 20 if authorized). Staff also said they would begin tracking legacy‑business closures related to the crisis and would coordinate metrics with the controller's office and Office of Small Business.
Next steps: staff will continue outreach to legacy businesses, proceed with the bronze‑plaque contract once executed, pursue the intern study in phases, and prepare materials to agendize a commission letter or motion related to emergency support and funding for the registry.
