ICBD Tenant Relocation Ordinance Hearing at Providence City Hall
The Industrial Commercial Buildings District (ICBD) Tenant Relocation Ordinance is scheduled for Public Hearing Monday, March 3, 2008 at 6:00 pm in Providence City Hall. This ordinance – a call to developers of rehabilitation projects to recognize the hardship of tenant displacement and the negative impact on the local community and economy – will enact a policy within the ICBD where commercial tenants can receive a financial stipend and at least 90 days notice of termination regardless of the terms of a lease.
This ordinance – a call to developers of rehabilitation projects to recognize the hardship of tenant displacement and the negative impact on the local community and economy – will enact a policy within the ICBD where commercial tenants can receive a financial stipend and at least 90 days notice of termination regardless of the terms of a lease. This ordinance recognizes the importance of the existing small business and creative community to Providence’s long-term economic growth. It places value on the need to retain these jobs and businesses and offers some means of support for their disruption and involuntary loss of space. Finally, it prompts a building owner to consider the affect to this community and take action towards an honorable resolve.
While the historic preservation of many of these commercial buildings (fueled by the State Historic Tax Credit and other development incentives) has yielded a positive impact on Providence, the negative results of involuntary displacement has been felt by many small businesses and artists over the past 6 years. This ordinance is a first step towards stemming the loss of small neighborhood businesses to other cities that have been effective in relocating these jobs from Providence.
Please join us in support of this ordinance! We hope you can come out and help us fill City Hall, showing our Council Members that this is an important statement to our small businesses and creative community!
See details regarding the ordinance below, and please let us know if you have any questions.
Lisa and Erik
Lisa Carnevale & Erik Bright
Co-Directors, Partnership for Creative Industrial Space
401-751-4074
lisa@lisacarnevale.org
401-338-1714
erik@pcisprov.org
The ICBD Tenant Relocation Ordinance 2008
The Tenant Relocation Ordinance is a long time PCIS policy agenda item. It is modeled after similar ordinances in Seattle, WA with consideration of the SBER/ALCO Tenant Relocation Program implemented by PCIS in 2006 and 2007 as a successful pilot program.
The ordinance makes a building owner consider the impact of rehabilitation efforts on existing commercial tenants. The compliance of this ordinance is necessary for the building to be eligible for any city subsidy.
1. Requires a 90 day notice to all tenants, regardless of current lease
2. Pays a ‘stipend’ based to help businesses with relocation based on number of employees:
1-2 employees: $2500
3-5 employees: $5000
6-9 employees: $7500
10 employees or more: $10,000
Employees must be full time (minimum of 30 hours a week) and employed by the business for at least one year.
Businesses must be renting at the time of eviction, or within 12 months prior to the sale of a building for redevelopment or the issuance of a building permit for redevelopment. This is intended to prevent owners from evicting tenants before they move forward with redevelopment plans, and thus circumventing the intention of the ordinance.
While the compliance of a 90-day notice is mandatory, the payment of a relocation stipend to the tenants is voluntary. If the building owner chooses not to do this, the building will be ineligible for any city subsidy, such as tax incremental financing, a tax stabilization or grant (whether Federal, state or municipal) that is administered by the city.
