Toolkit Home | Policy & Legislation | Policy Plan
Planning and implementing the policy needed for a legacy business program.
Forming a Plan
Since a fully implemented municipal policy for legacy business programs is uncommon, it is difficult to find models of success that you can reference for your program. However, before you start, you should have a good understanding of the types of municipal policies needed to make your program successful. This will come from your talks with legacy business owners and community stakeholders. You will also need a good understanding of which municipal departments are key to developing municipal policy, along with their departmental goals and initiatives. Spend some time identifying what existing municipal policy is in place that can benefit your program, along with what is missing or what might need to be amended. These steps could help you plan meetings and conversations with municipal stakeholders.
To help you plan municipal policy integration with your program, consider these steps:
Steps for Creating a Policy Plan
1. Map out Your Municipal Partners
Identify which departments cover the policy you would like to implement. Some departments focus on helping small businesses, while others primarily focus on growth. Create a matrix of your policy needs aligned with the departments most likely to support them. Then identify partners to contact or stakeholders to include in the process.
2. Create a Story
Compile your research, community input, and legacy business owner needs into a presentation that presents both data and human stories. Your municipal government may already be supportive of legacy business, but if not, you will need to present a compelling story for why they should care. Remember that municipal governments need justification before initiating policies that interfere with the local market and economy.
3. Show Examples
Collect examples and case studies of the policies that you would like to implement, outlining their scope, requirements, and outcomes. Use the examples provided here, and you can also reference the Small Business Anti-Displacement Leagues Toolkit for municipal policy and existing legacy business programs. Keep in mind that municipal governments may be wary of adopting policies that have not been tested and proven elsewhere.
4. Create a Policy Program Plan
Outline a realistic timeline for implementing your most needed policy first, then advancing from there. Remember that these programs require well-thought-out approaches, cross-functional coordination, and ongoing community and stakeholder engagement. This could and should take a long time, even years, to implement. To the best of your ability, create a scope of work for your policy program, including what you are requesting and the work or support required. Consider your own resource and budget constraints, but also remember that your municipal partners may be working on very different timelines and may have resource limitations.
Municipal Involvement
Each municipal government is different, but municipal ordinances are usually initiated and ratified by an elected governing body, like a city council or board of supervisors. Consequently, developing a legacy business program will require you to educate these officials, gain their support, collaborate with them, and include them in the process. Do this as early as possible; these officials create the policy that allows the program to exist and receive funding. Their involvement also provides the program with legitimacy, public visibility, and a channel for civic engagement. Consider making these elected officials key stakeholders in your legacy business program to ensure their long-term support and sustain the program's long-term success.
San Francisco Legcay Business Program Example
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors plays a pivotal role in San Francisco’s Legacy Business Program. Under the city’s establishing ordinance (Administrative Code – Section 2A.242) for the program, the Board of Supervisors, along with the mayor, is responsible for nominating legacy businesses to the program. Each board member can identify and nominate businesses in their district that they believe qualify for the legacy business registry. This process not only legitimizes the program and vets potential businesses based on impact in their communities, but also guarantees that the board members continue to shape policy and budget for the legacy business program based on their connection and understanding of long-standing, culturally significant businesses in their districts.
Case in point.
Implementing Policy to Support Your Program
Your program’s long-term success depends on implementing policy through municipal partners. If you are starting the program from within a local government, you most likely already know some or all the partners you need to work with. If you are starting from a nonprofit or community organization, the world of municipal policy may be foreign to you, but working with your local government and establishing municipal partners to develop your program is fundamental. The following section outlines potential municipal and external policy partners.
Where to Look and Who to Talk To
Developing municipal policy options for your legacy business program will require collaborative, cross-functional efforts to create the wide-ranging policy initiatives needed. Here is a sample of the municipal offices and departments that you can expect to work with, along with a brief description. These examples have been generalized and may be organized or named differently in your city, depending on the municipal organization.
Primary Municipal Partners
Planning Department
Planning departments are commonly involved and even run some of the existing legacy business programs. They are involved in the design and definition of legacy business programs. They often handle zoning ordinances and overlays, land use, and financial benefits such as grant funding or revolving funds.
Office of Historic Preservation or Preservation Department
This department is sometimes located within the planning department and also runs some of the existing legacy business programs. They are key partners in developing preservation policy and are key resources for preservation-related funding. They are also your gateway to state and federal preservation programs.
Economic Development Department
These departments typically manage policies focused on the local economy, including for small businesses. They are involved in financial and business policy for legacy business programs. They can also partner on program design and business outreach. Small Business Offices or departments are often located within Economic Development Departments or may exist as a separate entity. In either case, they will have a targeted focus on small business policy.
Community Development Department
These departments can exist within Housing Departments or as separate entities. They typically manage community stabilization and revitalization programs and anti-displacement policy, making them invaluable to legacy business programs. Along with the planning department, they are generally tasked with community outreach that may help your program.
Secondary Municipal Partners
City Attorney’s Office or Legal Department
This department is crucial for drafting foundational legacy business ordinances, amending or editing existing ordinances, and analyzing and creating necessary legislation. They will also safeguard that the legacy business program policy complies with local, state, and federal law.
Budget or Finance Department
This department analyzes legacy business program costs, return on investment, revenue impacts, and financial sustainability. They can also help arrange and structure any incentives or funds associated with policy.
City (and County) Treasurer’s Office
This department handles financial dispensation for your program and develops and manages the tax policy associated with it. Your city or county Tax Assessor’s office will also be involved in creating tax policy.
City Auditor or Controller
This group evaluates and audits the legacy business program’s performance. They are a good resource for demonstrating the program’s value and for determining whether and how a legacy business program should evolve.
Political/Legislative Partners
City Council or Board of Supervisors
This elected group and its staff create and approve the ordinance establishing a legacy business program and any additional policy associated with it. It also endorses funding and amends existing policy.
Mayor’s Office
The Mayor’s Office can be a very influential partner for establishing a legacy business program. It can help to develop interdepartmental collaboration for the program and, depending on the municipality, can be heavily involved in budget approval (note that city councils or boards of supervisors manage the budget process in many municipalities). Making your legacy business program a priority within the Mayor’s Office by showing community involvement and support can help to secure funding and launch policy initiatives. Keep in mind that priorities change from administration to administration, as do relationships between city departments and the Mayor’s Office, so a prolonged partnership may not always be possible.
Historic Preservation Commission
This group advises on preservation policy, the creation or amendment of preservation criteria, and preservation protections and incentives. They also review district or individual nominations regarding legacy businesses.
Other Patners or Resources
Small Business for America’s Future
Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of business owners and business leaders that provides resources and research to improve small business legislation at every level of government. They advocate for the needs of small businesses and Main Street programs, as well as for “just and equitable” economic frameworks supporting business owners, employees, and communities. While not specifically targeting legacy business programs, they do provide valuable research material on tax programs and small business policy that may help define your legacy business program. They also provide examples of policy briefings that could be leveraged to define and message your legacy business program. Additionally, they can be an invaluable resource for research and case studies as you create a framework to present your case for a legacy business program.
Small Business Anti-Displacement Network
The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN) is a nationwide collaboration of organizations that work to prevent the displacement of BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses. They provide a wide variety of resources that can help you define the policy needs of your program, especially related to anti-displacement policy. Their resources include a wide range of anti-displacement strategies, many of which are mentioned here, as well as information on commercial façade improvement programs, tax abatement policies, and community-centric zoning. They also have information on existing legacy business programs and an extensive toolkit featuring well-established tools and programs that could help define your legacy business policies. Additionally, be sure to download their case studies on fighting commercial gentrification, entitled "Keeping Small Businesses in Place."
Main Street America
The nonprofit Main Street America collaborates with local leaders, local nonprofits, and grassroots organizations to “create resilient local economies and improve quality of life through place-based economic development and community preservation” in neighborhood commercial districts and downtowns nationwide. Founded over forty years ago by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street America works with local Main Street initiatives to provide resources, training, and technical assistance to local “Main Street” programs nationwide. Main Street uses a four-part approach with its local partners to focus on community preservation and economic vitality.
For policy resources, they provide an advocacy toolkit that helps communicate Main Street fundamentals, which closely align with legacy business programs, with local governments and policymakers. They also offer their Knowledge Hub, which covers topics such as Community Preservation, Commercial Property Development, and Equitable and Inclusive Community Development.