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Fillmore Planning Commission hears downtown strategic-plan update; ARPA facade grants helped 10 businesses
Summary
Assistant City Manager Manuel Minjarez updated the Fillmore Planning Commission on downtown economic-development work: a one-time ARPA-funded rehabilitation grant helped 10 businesses, a monthly business roundtable is expanding outreach, wayfinding signage and a possible vacancy tax remain under study, and Sierra Northern hopes to resume tourist operations after bridge work in mid-2026.
Assistant City Manager Manuel Minjarez told the Fillmore Planning Commission that staff has been implementing the city's downtown retail strategy, including an ARPA-funded downtown rehabilitation grant program that helped 10 businesses with facade and storefront improvements.
The update, presented at a regular planning-commission meeting, outlined short-, mid- and long-term priorities from the retail strategies plan completed in 2022 and described tools staff is pursuing to support downtown businesses. Minjarez said the city created business-support materials (a how to open a business brochure and a recruitment packet), produced a branding toolkit with stakeholders, and launched a business roundtable that moved from bimonthly to monthly meetings.
Why it matters: The commission heard that the effort to boost downtown retail combines one-time investments, ongoing outreach and possible regulatory changes that could affect property owners. Minjarez said the rehabilitation grant program used one-time ARPA dollars and "was able…
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