CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY THIRD COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-18-82 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Klarissa J. Peña
RESOLUTION
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Directing The Economic Development Department To Collaborate With The City Council Office And Other Local And State Government Agencies To Convene A Micro-Enterprise Development Fair (Peña)
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DIRECTING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY COUNCIL OFFICE AND OTHER LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO CONVENE A MICRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT FAIR.
WHEREAS, the Council finds that it is difficult to create regulatory, business, and built environments that provide equitable access to engaging in formal commerce for low-income individuals; and
WHEREAS, in regulatory, business, and built environments that make it difficult for low-income individuals to access the mainstream labor market or establish their own business as a means of earning an income, many of these individuals end up participating in the informal economy; and
WHEREAS, although there is a need for the informal economy to provide a safety net for low-income individuals who cannot find employment or establish their own business, cities that do not take measures to support these individuals sometimes end up expending more local funding towards ensuring their public safety and well-being while also missing the opportunity to accrue revenue from business registration and solicitation permitting; and
WHEREAS, one opportunity for low-income individuals to find a point-of-entry into the market place, start generating some income of their own, and contribute to the City of Albuquerque’s tax base is to start their own micro-enterprise; and
WHEREAS, micro-enterprises often operate on sidewalks and other public spaces in ways that activate vacant, underutilized, underperforming commercial districts, provide more “eyes on the street” to supporting surrounding businesses, and create business clusters that diversify the local economy; and
WHEREAS, there are many vacant properties in various commercial districts throughout the City that could be activated by micro-enterprises in the same way San Antonio’s pop-up program encourages Downtown property owners to host short-term tenants in vacant spaces with all lease payments being waived and tenants only being responsible for insurance and signage; and
WHEREAS, micro-enterprises operating on sidewalks and other public spaces do not have to pay for rent and insurance, but can also pose a threat to the general public by causing congestion if not conducted responsibly or in coordination with nearby brick and mortar business owners and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque and other cities throughout the country have recently experienced an increase in the number of informal street vendors, street performers, and other self-employed individuals who rely on access to sidewalks and other public spaces to earn a living; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque would benefit from formalizing informal commerce into micro-enterprises that conduct business on sidewalks and public spaces because the City would not only be able to receive more revenue from individuals registering their businesses and purchasing solicitation permits, but it would also increase standards of behavior and safety while occupying those spaces; and
WHEREAS, for the purposes of this Resolution and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the City of Albuquerque defines micro-enterprise as a business with five or fewer employees (one or more of whom owns the business), an operation that generally needs less than $35,000 in loan capital, and an enterprise that does not have access to the conventional commercial banking sector; and
WHEREAS, cities like Albany, Georgia have been able to relax their business registration requirements or enable micro-enterprises to conduct business on the property of another business in order to provide low-income individuals with a point-of-entry into the market place to start earning liquid income; and
WHEREAS, encouraging micro-enterprises to conduct business on sidewalks and other public spaces would provide low-income individuals with the most affordable option for bringing their products to the market, but might also pose a threat to the general public by causing congestion if not conducted responsibly or in coordination with nearby brick and mortar business owners (per § 13-3-1-1 of the City of Albuquerque’s Code of Ordinances); and
WHEREAS, convening a Micro-Enterprise Development Fair would provide an opportunity for low-income individuals to learn more about the business registration process, how to secure micro-enterprise loans, how to grow their businesses, and how to responsibly occupy sidewalks and other public spaces; and
WHEREAS, convening a Micro-Enterprise Development Fair would provide an opportunity for low-income individuals to provide public input on local and state regulation related to micro-enterprise development that City Council staff could use to inform the development of a longer-term plan; and
WHEREAS, a Micro-Enterprise Development Fair needs to involve a continuum of businesses of all sizes and types, micro-enterprise development organizations, financial institutions, merchant associations, intermediary organizations, and state and local public agencies in order to explore opportunities for encouraging more business-within-a-business practices; and
WHEREAS, a Micro-Enterprise Development Fair would help perpetuate a win/win/win situation in which the City of Albuquerque would benefit from increased revenue from business registrations, micro-enterprises would receive more education on how to start and grow their businesses, and brick and mortar business owners/property owners would have their properties being more fully utilized.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. City Council and Economic Development Department staff will convene the first Micro-Enterprises Development Fair before the end of 2018.
Section 2. City Council and Economic Development Department staff will collect all of the input received during the Micro-Enterprise Development Fair to create a long-term plan for supporting the City’s emerging micro-enterprise community and convening subsequent Micro-Enterprise Development Fairs in low-income neighborhoods throughout the City.
Section 3. City Council and Economic Development Department staff will assess which neighborhoods throughout the City of Albuquerque would most benefit from convening subsequent Micro-Enterprise Development Fairs. This will include identifying commercial districts that contain vacant buildings and spaces for encouraging business-within-a-business lease agreements to be established.
Section 4. The Economic Development Department will assess its business registration and solicitation permitting processes and explore opportunities for collecting a more comprehensive set of data related to applicants’ business types, sizes, and needs. The goal of expanding upon these data sets is to strengthen the City’s ability to connect brick and mortar businesses with micro-enterprise vendors in a way that supports business-within-a-business practices. This is also intended to help identify opportunities for business clustering and the expansion of the City of Albuquerque’s continuum of commerce.
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