With the long-term goal of sparking business growth in WestLinn, the city has granted a yearlong reprieve for business owners in need ofhome occupation permits and licenses.
The program, which began on Sunday, enables home-basedbusiness owners to obtain the required permit or renewal for free, bypassing cityfees. in addition, the program offers amnesty to unlicensed business owners,allowing them to apply without penalty. the fee holiday will run through June30, 2013.
Business owners in West Linn pay between $36 and $138 for licenses,required to be renewed annually. in a normal year, home-based business ownersshoulder a second permit fee ? $100 the first year and $10 for a renewal. Theyearlong program will equate to a $6,800 loss in revenue for the city, staffestimate.
But West Linn?s new economic development director, ChrisKerr, expects it to pay off in the long run.
Kerr proposed the fee holiday ? his first project sincebecoming economic development director at the start of June ? after noticingareas to improve on in the city?s licensing process. Businesses needed a clearbenefit from it, he thought. ?It seems like a resource the city should betapping into.?
Originally, Kerr suggested the city waive fees for allbusiness licenses, in addition to home occupation permits. However, theresulting loss of $41,000 in city revenue was too much for city council toswallow. on June 25, council approved the amended fee holiday that excludeswaiving the business license fee.
The fee waiver for home-based businesses will encourage moreowners to apply, Kerr said, providing a more factual number of such endeavorsin West Linn. currently, out of 1,245 licensed businesses in the city, 423 arelocated in residences.
With a broader inventory of businesses, city staff canbetter identify owners? needs. For example, Kerr said, if he notices a group ofhome-based baking businesses, staff could work on establishing a communitykitchen or a store front the bakers could lease for a month to give their goodsmore visibility. Staff also hope to connect small business owners with helpfulresources and aid in marketing.
?Part of it,? Kerr said, ?is creating the idea that the cityis a little more business friendly.?
? Rachel StarkFollow @wlinn_reporter
For one year, West Linn waives permit fees for home-based businesses
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