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Supervisors press mayor’s office to speed legacy business registry after months of delays
Summary
Dozens of long-running businesses and nonprofits told the committee that the Legacy Business Registry and Fund (Prop J) has been slow to launch; OEWD and the mayor's budget office committed staff and funding steps, and the committee ordered written status reports and a follow-up hearing in two weeks to clear the backlog.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee held a lengthy hearing on implementing the Legacy Business Registry and the accompanying grant fund created by Proposition J. Supervisor David Campos, the author of the registry, said the voters had authorized the program but "not a single" nomination had been forwarded to the Historic Preservation Commission despite more than 55 nominations, describing the delay as a form of broken promise to voters.
Dozens of legacy business owners and nonprofit leaders testified about lease insecurity, missed deadlines and apparent nonresponsiveness from the Office of Small Business (OSB). Speakers included Nikki Cooper (2 Jacks), Dan Macchiarini (Macchiarini Creative Design), Ida Zabi (Cafe Trieste), Fady Zabi (North Beach Business Association), and representatives from San Francisco Heritage, who said the city’s slow implementation had alienated businesses that had relied on the promise of help.
"We were so happy when Prop J passed...and 6 months later, nothing has been done," said Marilyn Saner, speaking on behalf of a North Beach legacy business. Many speakers described checks and applications submitted months earlier that had not been processed or cashed and urged immediate outreach and processing.
Melissa Whitehouse, acting budget director in the mayor’s office, told the committee the mayor had secured budget funding and that staff were balancing those commitments against existing budget pressures. Todd Rufo, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), outlined program elements the administration will fund: two dedicated staff (one for registration/marketing, one for direct assistance), grants for rent stabilization and technical assistance, marketing, and outreach. Rufo said the registry position was posted the day before the hearing and that OEWD would contact nominated businesses over the following seven days and provide supervisors a status list.
Chair Aaron Peskin pressed staff on record-keeping and responsiveness; he cited missing meeting minutes for the Small Business Commission and said when the public asks how many nominations exist OSB initially "didn't know." Peskin demanded a written update in seven days and a committee report-back in two weeks. OEWD committed to outreach and to delivering a full list of nominations, application status and next steps within seven days, and to return to GAO with an update.
The committee did not adopt program rules at the hearing; instead it used the session for oversight, secured commitments on staffing and funding, and set a rapid reporting timetable to move the backlog through the Historic Preservation Commission and related review steps.
Next steps: OEWD/OSB to provide the requested status report within 7 days and to return to the committee in two weeks with progress on clearing nominations and hiring the registry staffer.
