Joint Communication to Carlsbad Businesses Regarding COVID-19
As we are in week five of the COVID-19 public health emergency, we want to continue to express our gratitude to our Carlsbad business community for following the health orders and complying with the additional guidelines set forth by the state and county. Thank you for doing your part.
If you have a question for the city or would like to suggest a topic for an upcoming joint communication please email
[email protected]
. Here is the latest.
Tell Us What You Need
On Tuesday, April 14 at 3 p.m. the city, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce and the Carlsbad Village Association will hold a webinar regarding local business needs during the crisis. This discussion is open to all of our businesses and is intended to source ideas directly from the companies that are feeling the brunt of this emergency.
You can register for the webinar
here
.
Business Resource Websites
Each of our organizations maintain regularly updated business resource pages on our respective websites. We encourage you to visit.
City Approves Temporary Halt on Commercial Evictions
On April 7, 2020 the Carlsbad City Council unanimously approved a temporary suspension on evictions of commercial tenants who can’t pay rent due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. This action was consistent with authority granted by an executive order by the Governor.
The Judicial Council of California, which is the rule-maker of the state’s court system, has also suspended proceedings related to defaults in eviction cases for both residential and commercial tenants for three months. This was in addition to the governor’s executive order placing a temporary moratorium on residential evictions
The city’s eviction ban requires commercial tenants to be current on rent when the statewide emergency was declared on March 4 and notify the landlord in writing prior to rent being due or up to 10 business days after. The tenant also must be able to prove that the inability to pay is related to the COVID-19 emergency’s effect on the tenant’s business. The tenant will still be responsible for paying the back rent plus any late fees. These requirements are modeled after the requirements established by Governor Gavin Newsom for residential eviction relief.
The City Council made one change to the
resolution
presented in the
staff report
. That change was to remove the May 2020 expiration date and have the suspension of evictions remain in effect until the end of the COVID-19 emergency. Additional resources and guidance for tenants and landlords can be found on the city’s
website.
New Health Orders
On April 9, the county announced a few updates to the public health order having to do with who has to wear face coverings if they interact with the public:
- Banks
- Public transportation, taxis and Uber/Lyft
- Day care/preschools serving food
The official order hasn’t been posted yet, so we'll share it next week. It takes effect at midnight on Monday. Here’s a link to the
current health orders
.
Paycheck Protection Program is Now Live
Since our last communication, the
Paycheck Protection Program
has gone live. Eligible businesses can apply for funding to cover payroll, mortgage interest, rent and utilities for up to 8 weeks. The loan can be forgiven based on the employer maintaining or quickly rehiring employees and maintaining salary levels. Under this program:
- Eligible recipients may qualify for a loan up to $10 million determined by eight weeks of prior average payroll plus an additional 25% of that amount.
- Loan payments will be deferred for six months.
You can apply through any qualified SBA lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union and Farm Credit System institution that is participating.
If you have an existing lender, contact them to see if they are participating in the program. Applications are open through June 30, 2020. Please check out additional information for
lenders
and
borrowers
.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Loan Advance
SBA’s
Economic Injury Disaster Loan
program provides small businesses (fewer than 500 employees) with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. A $10,000 advance can be requested and will be made available within three days of a successful application, and this loan advance may not have to be repaid. No personal guarantee is required for EIDLs under $200,000, and the loan can be made solely upon the applicant’s credit score.
There has been a significant increase in the volume of applications to this program so if you think you may need this relief, apply immediately.
Carlsbad City Council Subcommittee on Economic Revitalization
The Carlsbad City Council approved the formation of a subcommittee for economic revitalization in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Mayor Matt Hall and Councilmember Priya Bhat-Patel were appointed to the subcommittee at the
Carlsbad City Council meeting
on Tuesday night. The subcommittee will meet with select members of city staff to discuss and identify options for economic revitalization for future consideration by the full City Council. If you have suggestions for economic revitalization measures the city should pursue, please email your suggestions to
[email protected]
.
Carlsbad COVID-19 Solid Waste Services Economic Relief for Businesses Program
The City’s Sustainable Materials Management Division has created a
Solid Waste Services Economic Relief for Businesses program
. The goal of the program is to support Carlsbad’s local business community and provide economic relief by temporarily reducing, downsizing or suspending all solid waste services and charges. Please read the program
guidelines
. If needed, you can complete the application
here
.
Once City of Carlsbad lifts the emergency declaration or by business request, whichever occurs first, solid waste services and containers will be returned back to normal at no additional charge. Contact Waste Management Customer Service: 760-929-9400 to resume service.
Please call the city’s Sustainable Materials Management Division at 760- 602-4646 or email
[email protected]
if you have any questions or would like to discuss any service changes.
Governor Newsom Announces Additional Business and Worker Support Services
Governor Newsom announced that additional funding has been provided to the California Infrastructure Economic Bank
Small Business Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee Program
. This Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee program helps mitigate the risk taken on by traditional financial institutions by offering a guarantee of up to 95% on a loan. The IBank has
Financial Development Corporation
partners throughout the state that assist eligible businesses in securing that guarantee on a bank loan. The FDCs work directly with lenders to underwrite the loan. The lender sets the criteria and interest rate before the SBFC approves the loan guarantee.
The governor also announced the launching of the
www.OnwardCA.org
website. The website serves as a one-stop resource for Californians impacted by job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 Medical Supply Contributions
While many of our businesses are battling this global crisis and working to mitigate the effects, health care institutions across the state could also use your support. If your business has capacity to support efforts with medical supply contributions, the state has set up a
website
where you can offer resources you may be able to contribute, either for donation or purchase, to support California’s response to COVID-19.
If you have personal protective equipment that you would like to contribute to our local efforts to keep workers safe, please send an email to
[email protected]
and we will put you in touch with our Emergency Operations Center.
What to Eat Tonight?
The city is maintaining a map of all the restaurants that are still operating while complying with the no onsite dining requirements. We encourage you to check out the list of over
100 restaurants
that are open for delivery, takeout and curbside pickup. If you want to be added to the map or see that a restaurant isn’t listed, send the business name, location and services offered to
[email protected]
. The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has also compiled a
list
of member restaurants that are open, and Carlsbad Village Association is keeping a
list
of open restaurants in Carlsbad Village.
Our business organizations, the city and community as a whole are pulling together during this disaster. We are inspired by our Carlsbad business community’s resilience and commitment to meeting the challenges of this moment. Thank you.
