(a) The Office of Small Business shall establish and maintain a registry of Legacy Businesses in San Francisco (the "Registry"). The purpose of the Registry is to recognize that longstanding, community-serving businesses can be valuable cultural assets of the City. In addition, the City intends that the Registry be a tool for providing educational and promotional assistance to Legacy Businesses to encourage their continued viability and success.
(b) For purposes of this Section
2A.242, "Legacy Business" means a business that has been nominated by a member of the Board of Supervisors or the Mayor in accordance with subsection (c) below, and that the Small Business Commission, after a noticed hearing, determines meets each of the following criteria:
(1) The business has operated in San Francisco for 30 or more years, with no break in San Francisco operations exceeding two years. The business may have operated in more than one location. If the business has operated in San Francisco for more than 20 years but less than 30 years it may still satisfy this subsection (b)(1) if the Small Business Commission finds that the business has significantly contributed to the history or identity of a particular neighborhood or community and, if not included in the Registry, the business would face a significant risk of displacement.
(2) The business has contributed to the neighborhood's history and/or the identity of a particular neighborhood or community. Prior to the hearing, the Small Business Commission, or the Executive Director of the Office of Small Business on its behalf, shall request an advisory recommendation from the Historic Preservation Commission as to whether the business meets the requirement in this subsection (b)(2). If the Historic Preservation Commission does not provide an advisory recommendation within 30 days of receipt of the request, the Small Business Commission shall treat such nonresponse as an advisory recommendation that the business meets the requirement in this subsection (b)(2).
(3) The business is committed to maintaining the physical features or traditions that define the business, including craft, culinary, or art forms.
If the Small Business Commission makes all three findings, it shall include the business in the Registry as a Legacy Business.
(c) Nominations for the Registry shall be limited to a total of 300 businesses per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). A nomination is deemed to have been made on the date the Small Business Commission receives the nomination in writing from a member of the Board of Supervisors or the Mayor. Nominations received after the close of business on June 30 shall be considered received in the following fiscal year. The nominations for any fiscal year shall be the first 300 received in that fiscal year.
There is no limit on the number of nominations that may be made by the Mayor or a Member of the Board of Supervisors. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, the Small Business Commission may adopt regulations under subsection (e) below to ensure that the Mayor and each member of the Board of Supervisors have the same opportunity to submit nominations, and to prescribe procedures as appropriate for the nomination process.
(d) The Executive Director of the Office of Small Business, in consultation with the Controller, shall establish a one-time non-refundable administrative fee, to offset the costs of administering the program, which shall not exceed $50, to be paid by businesses that are nominated for inclusion in the Registry and that wish to be included in the Registry.
(e) The Small Business Commission may, after a noticed hearing, adopt such rules, regulations and forms necessary to implement this Section
2A.242. Any rules and regulations adopted under this authority shall be subject to disapproval of the Board of Supervisors by ordinance. The Small Business Commission shall provide written notice to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of its adoption of any rule or regulation under this subsection (e), along with a copy of said rule or regulation. If a Member of the Board of Supervisors does not introduce an ordinance to disapprove the rule or regulation within 30 days of the date of delivery of such notice to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, or if such an ordinance is introduced within the 30-day period but the ordinance is not enacted by the Board of Supervisors within 90 days of the date of the Commission's delivery of notice to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, the rule or regulation shall go into effect.
(f) The Small Business Commission shall survey San Francisco's Legacy Businesses and, no later than September 30, 2015, make substantive recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for programs for Legacy Businesses. Such programs may include business and technical assistance, lease renewal and acquisition assistance, public education and commendation initiatives to recognize and honor the contributions of Legacy Businesses to San Francisco, financial incentives to encourage the stability of Legacy Businesses, and additional business stabilization and neighborhood continuity initiatives.
(Added by Ord. , File No. 141038, App. 3/19/2015, Eff. 4/18/2015; amended by , App. 11/3/2015)
