Business Friendly Sonora?
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Downtown Sonora
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Sonora, CA -- The City of Sonora is looking at creating a Business Incentives Program designed to boost the downtown economy.
Mayor Bill Canning has asked City staff to look at the possibility of starting a program designed after Gresham, Oregon. The City of 90,000 has decided to waive various fees placed on employers, which has resulted in 30 new businesses filling 30,000 square ft. of vacant space in the past year.
"They are doing things like waiving business license fees, waiving some of the impact fees, and other things that startup businesses would have to pay to the city," says Tim Miller, Sonora City Administrator. "Some of those fees will be paid through grant funding that the city may have available, or other sources of revenue."
In downtown Sonora, businesses currently pay an occupancy fee of $30. An additional $145 business licensing fee is charged on employers with 1-3 people. The charge is $245 for businesses that have 4-12 employees. Also, the City's building permit fees equate to roughly three percent of the cost of the improvements made.
Discussion on whether to create a Business Incentives Program is scheduled for tonight's meeting that begins at 5pm at Sonora City Hall. A formal vote to approve a program would happen at a later meeting.
Written by BJ Hansen
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