Selma BID approves revised façade grant; sends downtown design guidelines toward council review

The Selma Downtown Business Improvement District board voted to approve a revised downtown façade improvement grant program and directed staff to move the package to final legal review and the City Council for consideration. The board’s recommended action asks staff to prepare the item for council, with a target council date mentioned in the packet.

At a discussion that began with a presentation of a first draft of downtown design guidelines, city planner Megan Lawrence described the consultants’ work: “They essentially went through downtown, took an inventory of all of our buildings, all the architectural elements that are prevalent throughout Selma,” and packaged those elements as a companion document to municipal code. The draft is intended to guide façade treatments and new construction while remaining flexible for renovations, Lawrence said.

José (staff) told the board the grant application would include eligibility checks for property taxes, BID assessment fees and utilities; it would limit awards to one per business per fiscal year, require approval before reimbursement, and remove retroactive reimbursements. The outreach flyer in the packet states: “Give your storefront a fresh look — up to $10,000 available.”

Board members and public commenters pressed staff on how the guidelines and the grant will interact with prevailing‑wage rules and appeals. One commenter noted that projects under $1,600 do not trigger prevailing‑wage requirements but that larger projects quickly can exceed that threshold. In response, the packet and staff comments say the city has begun assembling a pool of contractors that meet prevailing‑wage standards; Director Han (Public Works) is working with the city manager on that list so applicants can be referred to contractors familiar with certified payroll requirements.

The board also discussed review pathways and flexibility: staff recommended that the standards be as objective as possible (for example, setting a minimum number of façade features to “shall incorporate” rather than leave “should” language open-ended). Staff said an administrative approval path or a variance procedure could be used where flexibility is needed for specific proposals.

The motion to approve the revised grant and direct staff to proceed carried without recorded opposition. The board did not record a roll-call tally for the final motion in the discussion; six members were listed present in the initial roll call earlier in the meeting. The staff recommendation now moves to legal review and the City Council for a next procedural step.

What’s next: staff will work with Public Works and the city manager to finalize contractor referral guidance, refine any objective standards before drafting the ordinance language, prepare outreach materials and present the resolution to the City Council for first review as indicated in the packet.