070708 Adopt a Facade Improv Rebate Prog for the Downtown

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REQUEST FOR AGENCY ACTION AGENCY BOARD MEETING DATE: JULY 7, 2008 TITLE: ADOPT A FACADE IMPROVEMENT REBATE PROGRAM FOR THE DOWNTOWN RECOMMENDED ACTION AGENCY SECRETARY USE ONLY: InD; inQrtullez z,✓d, 17ndt" APPROVED ❑ As Recommended S"21 ❑ As Amended (Su n'e t�v�bu�nrd ❑ Ordinance on 1 Reading ❑ Ordinance on 2nd Reading ❑ Implementing Resolution ❑ Set Public Hearing For CONTINUED TO FILE NUMBER Adopt a Fagade Improvement Rebate Program for the Downtown. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION At its Regular Meeting of June 17, 2008, by a vote of 4:0 (Vasquez, Verino absent), the Community Redevelopment and Housing Commission recommended that the Community Redevelopment Agency adopt a Fagade Improvement Rebate Program for the Downtown. DISCUSSION For over two decades, the City of Santa Ana, private investors, business owners, various organizations, and community residents have worked together to revitalize and promote urban renewal in the Downtown while maintaining the historic and cultural traditions of the area. Santa Ana's Downtown is becoming widely known as a dynamic urban center acclaimed for the arts, theaters, galleries, and restaurants. The Downtown also boasts numerous art deco style historical buildings that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Downtown Fagade Improvement Rebate Program is designed to encourage the revitalization and activation of key storefronts in an effort to stimulate private investment and customer patronage. The rebate program would provide assistance to the commercial property and small business owners within the designated Downtown target area, which incorporates the Downtown Historic District, as well as other blocks and buildings vital to the downtown core (Exhibit 1). The Fagade program will 5 -19