Five council members want Austin to help small businesses pay commercial rent. A vote is set for Nov. 5

Five Austin City Council members want the city to help local small businesses afford commercial rent. A resolution on the council's Nov. 5 agenda, item 24, would direct the city manager to design a "commercial space buy-down rental assistance program" and pick one business to try it first.

The idea targets a problem many neighborhoods can see in their storefronts: rents that local and legacy businesses can't pay. The program would temporarily cover part of the cost of space for businesses that the city judges likely to survive once the help ends.

What the resolution says

Council Member Krista Laine is the lead sponsor. José Velásquez, Vanessa Fuentes, Natasha Harper-Madison and Zohaib "Zo" Qadri are co-sponsors, according to the agenda backup. Five sponsors is not yet a council majority, which takes six votes.

The draft resolution would have the city manager work with Austin Economic Development to build the program "subject to available funding." It says the program should favor businesses that:

1. add to Austin's cultural identity and economic mix;
2. show they can stay open after city help ends;
3. bring foot traffic, visitors or longer hours to a corridor;
4. offer something new or different nearby;
5. complement, rather than compete with, businesses around them;
6. are locally owned, with a preference for legacy and local small businesses.

Staff would set eligibility rules, funding limits, how long help lasts and how results are measured. They would also find funding sources and bring any spending back to the council for approval, and write a three-year budget framework. The resolution asks staff to look at related efforts, including the Downtown Austin Alliance's Downtown Space Activation program, and to fold engagement into work on the city's next Economic Development Roadmap.

It also tells staff to choose one eligible business as a "proof of concept" for the first round. The resolution does not name a business or a dollar amount.

What our records add

Staff floated the idea in March. At the council's Economic Opportunity Committee on March 20, Fuentes raised commercial affordability, citing reports that most businesses on South Congress are no longer locally owned. She asked how the city could provide more affordable commercial space. Assistant City Manager Eric Anthony Johnson answered that economic development staff wanted to create what they were calling a "commercial space buy down program" for local small businesses, to cover part of the rent for a set period for existing and new businesses.

It builds on legacy business deals. On Oct. 22 the council approved place-based agreements to help Esther's Follies, Royal Blue Grocery and others stay in their locations. Our story on those deals shows that none of the program's awards in our records has drawn a no vote. The new resolution would add a rent tool aimed at businesses moving into or expanding into new space.

The sponsors. Laine, Velásquez, Fuentes, Harper-Madison and Qadri are the sponsors. Harper-Madison is term-limited, and six candidates are running for her seat. Velásquez and Qadri are on the Nov. 3 ballot. Our race guides for District 3 and District 9 cover their records.

Our records do not yet hold a page for this item. Its file number is 26-3023.

What's next

The resolution is on the Nov. 5 agenda under items from council. If it passes, staff would return with a program design, funding options and a first participant. No money is spent by the resolution itself.