Tuesday, April 14, 2015

UPDATE: Legacy Business Registry Program in San Francisco





UPDATE
- March 31, 2015


BOMA San Francisco Members:

Supervisor David Campos met with representatives of property organizations recently to inquire what types of incentives would be attractive to property owners to retain tenants who have been declared a legacy business in San Francisco. The meeting was cordial but few decisions were made other than to poll the various memberships about such a question. It is still undecided if the tenant business or the landlord should be assisted with some sort of subsidy or rebate.

The Legacy Business Registry program has been established and is defined as a business that has been nominated by a member of the Board of Supervisors or the Mayor and that the Small Business Commission has determined the business meets its criteria. The criteria are: 
  • The business has been in operation for at least 30 years with no break in operations exceeding two years; the business must have been founded in San Francisco; 
  • The business has contributed to the neighborhood’s history and/or the identity of a particular neighborhood or community;
  • And, the business has committed to maintaining the physical features or traditions that define the business, including craft, culinary, or art forms.
Please send any feedback to kenc@boma.com and johnb@boma.com.
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Original Post - February 26, 2015

This report was produced by our partners at the SF Heritage: http://www.sfheritage.org/

Note that BOMA San Francisco members are monitoring the progress of this measure. Send any feedback to kenc@boma.com and johnb@boma.com.

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Recently, the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to recommend approval of a new City-sponsored Legacy Business Registry that would provide formal recognition that longstanding, community-serving businesses are valuable cultural and historical assets to San Francisco.

Legacy Businesses are defined in the legislation as bars, restaurants, retail establishments, manufacturers, arts spaces, performance venues, and service providers that have been in business for more than 30 years. The establishment must also demonstrate historic importance to a community, neighborhood, or city as a whole. Largely inspired by Heritage's SF Legacy Bars & Restaurants' program and sponsored by Supervisors David Campos and Mark Farrell, Heritage is proud to have helped craft the legislation that will now head to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.

If passed, the registry will serve as a tool for providing educational and promotional assistance to Legacy Businesses to encourage their continued viability and success. In addition, the proposed legislation requires the Small Business Commission to survey San Francisco's Legacy Businesses and make substantive recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for programs that could benefit designated businesses.

Upon completion of the study, trailing legislation will be introduced to provide substantive financial incentives to Legacy Businesses and the buildings that house them. The program would be administered by the Office of Small Business and overseen by the Small Business Commission.

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