Title/Name/Summary
Appearance Improvement Grant Amendment
History
QUICKFACTS
Project
Appearance Improvement Grant Amendment - 2014-0060
Petitioner
Development Services Department
Purpose
Update the Appearance Improvement Grant to waive building permit fees for projects participating in the grant program.
Requested Actions: Program Amendment
OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND
The Appearance Improvement Grant was approved by the Village Board of Trustees on Feb. 4, 2013. It is the continuation of the Façade Improvement Program with a larger scope for commercial and landmark properties Village-wide.
The Appearance Improvement Grant awards businesses with eligible projects a grant worth 50% of the cost of work up to $20,000.
A draft of the amended program is attached for further review of what constitutes an eligible project for businesses.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION & CONTEXT
The proposed update to the Appearance Improvement Grant is to waive the building permit fees for participating businesses. When considering the cost of capital projects, building permit fees are often a line item that developers or business owners must factor. It is part of the project cost.
The intent of the Appearance Improvement Grant is to award businesses with a financial incentive to complete much needed appearance upgrades to aged buildings and infrastructure. The full grant amount is supposed to go toward helping with the construction costs. In effect, however, when the Village awards a $20,000 grant, the business is technically receiving $20,000 minus the building permit fees that are due, which can range between a couple hundred dollars to $5,000 or more depending on the size of the project. When a project seeks less than the maximum grant amount, building permit fees substantially eat into the incentive's purchasing power. Businesses are effectively receiving much less because they are essentially returning a portion of the incentive to pay for building permit fees. This reduce...
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