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Officials update committee on Legacy Business Registry rollout and preservation grants
Summary
City staff reported progress on the Legacy Business Registry: Richard Carrillo will be the program manager, 79 businesses have been nominated and 26 applications received (18 complete for HPC review); staff outlined grant program limits and plans to extend application deadlines to accommodate registry delays.
City staff updated the Government and Oversight Committee on implementation of the Legacy Business Registry and associated preservation grant programs, outlining staffing, application status and grant parameters.
Mary Ann Mizuko Thompson, speaking for Director Todd Rufo, said staff has focused on policies, procedures and outreach since the June 2 hearing and personally visited 37 nominated businesses that had not submitted applications. The Office of Small Business introduced Richard Carrillo as the new legacy business program manager, who will begin handling applications on July 11, 2016.
Staff reported a total of 79 nominations from the Board of Supervisors; 26 businesses have submitted applications, 18 of which are deemed complete and ready for review by the Historic Preservation Commission. The registry can accept up to 300 nominations per year. Staff described two grant programs: a business assistance grant (awards up to $500 per full-time employee, up to 100 FTE per business) and a rent stabilization grant (up to $4.50 per square foot for up to 5,000 square feet). Administrative guidelines for those programs will be considered by the Historic Preservation Commission and then by the Small Business Commission.
Because registry delays would otherwise limit eligible businesses’ ability to apply for Proposition J funds (business assistance grant), staff said they will submit an ordinance to extend the filing period by three months so nominees in process can apply. Staff also noted materials and applications are available in multiple languages and that the new program manager will provide monthly status updates to the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisors expressed concern about scheduling and asked staff to accelerate processing of applications so that businesses that are ready do not wait unnecessarily. With two item authors absent, the committee moved to continue Item 3 to the call of the chair; the motion passed with no objection.
