TO: Chair and Members of the Board
FROM: Diane Colonna, Executive Director
DATE: May 13, 2015
Title
AMENDMENTS TO GUIDELINES FOR THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FAÇADE IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM AND THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY LANDSCAPING IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
Body
BACKGROUND:
In February of 2015 the CRA Board approved modifications to the Commercial Property Façade and Landscape Grant Program guidelines. Those changes expanded the program area to include the entire CRA district, modified the percentage of the CRA's match (from 80% to 50%), and clarified the application and reimbursement procedures. In the months subsequent to that action staff has processed one façade grant application and met with several other grant candidates. In reviewing the adopted guidelines certain inconsistencies were noted in the guidelines. For instance, while the grants are available to both property owners and commercial tenants, most of the language in the guidelines refers only to property owners. Also, the Façade Program's maximum grants are based on the length of the building frontage, but the guidelines refer to "property frontage," which can be misleading.
The proposed revisions will eliminate inconsistencies and provide additional clarification for the implementation of both programs.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the proposed modifications to the Commercial Property Façade Grant Program and Commercial Property Landscaping Grant Program.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
CONTACT PERSON: Diane Colonna, Executive Director