Chula Vista City Council passed an economic relief package on Tuesday aiming to address the stresses put on the community by COVID-19 regulations.
The package included approving $1.5 million in small business relief funds, an extension on the city’s eviction moratorium, accepting nearly $500,000 in emergency aid for the homeless from the Regional Taskforce on the Homeless, cutting red tape to allow restaurants and businesses to expand to outdoor services and approving weekend closures of parts of Third Avenue to allow safer pedestrian access and business use.
The $1.5 million relief bundle for Chula Vista businesses will be a multi-phase, lottery-based award, with all applications collected during a one-week application period. Grant awardees will be randomly selected. Applications will only be accepted online, beginning Monday, July 20, at 7 a.m. until Friday, July 24, at 7 p.m. Eligible businesses may only apply once.
Businesses chosen to receive the grant will get either a $6,000 check or the equivalent of two months of rent covered, not to exceed the amount of the grant.
Council member Jill Galvez said she had concerns about the timeframe and method of the grant application and approval process.
“I have concerns that not every business in Chula Vista will have adequate time to hear about this,” said Galvez. “We need the public’s help in telling every single business they know of who shut down to please apply because it could mean a $6,000 grant and we don’t want them to miss this opportunity.”
Once applications have been screened and approved, applicants will be chosen randomly. Galvez said there might have been more equitable ways to distribute the government-funded relief.
“I think everybody has suffered with this pandemic and everybody deserves a break,” she said. “Not just those who win the lottery and those who have the time or knowledge to apply for those grants.”
To apply, businesses must be based in Chula Vista and have 10 or fewer full time employees. They must be non-essential, independently owned and operated, for-profit establishments with a valid Chula Vista business license, and must submit a social distancing and sanitation protocol form before receiving any monies.
Some of the measures in the city’s relief package, like the resolution to authorize the weekly weekend closure of Third Avenue from E Street to Center Street through Jan. 15, 2021, may provide exciting opportunities for businesses to get creative, said Galvez.
“They could very well decide to do this for a special weekend or a special month,” she said. “I think this item gives a lot of flexibility to Third Avenue and the Village Association to come up with a plan and do something fantastic.”
Chula Vista is included in new state mandated restrictions sweeping California counties which include the closure of gyms, non-critical businesses, personal care salons and indoor malls.
“We have to keep working together to protect those hardest hit by COVID-19 and the economic crisis,” said Councilman Steve Padilla. “Chula Vista and the South Bay region have been disproportionately impacted and we have to do everything we can to support working families, vulnerable populations, and small businesses as we get through this pandemic together.”
To learn more about how to apply for the Chula Vista CARES Small Business Grant program, go to: https://www.chulavistaca.gov/businesses/small-business-grant-program.
