CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
April 17, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Anita D. Gutierrez, AICP, Development Services Director SUBJECT: REPORT ON ACTIVATE POMONA PILOT PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council receive and file this report and that the City Manager promulgate a procedure to phase out existing active Activate Pomona permits by December 31, 2023.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
On June 15, 2020, the City Council approved the Activate Pomona Pilot Program (Resolution No. 2020-98, extended by Resolution No. 2020-165), which temporarily relaxed regulations contained in the Pomona City Code and Zoning Code to aid Pomona-based businesses in economic recovery from the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Development Services Department formally began accepting applications on July 2, 2020. In the 32 weeks since launch, 300 applications have been filed, representing a combination of home-based businesses, private property expansions, and public right-of-way activations. The Pomona business, residential, and artist community has been provided approximately $200,000 in support through the program through permitting fee waivers and in-kind Staff time. The program formally expired upon the end of the emergency order related to COVID-19 by Governor Newsom.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no expected fiscal impact associated with this report.
DISCUSSION:
Between July 2, 2020, and February 28, 2023, the City received 300 applications for the Activate Pomona Pilot Program.
Table 1. Types of Proposed Activities in Activate Pomona Applications Type of Proposed Activity
Number of Applications
Home-Based Business
107
Private Property Expansion
114
Public Rights-of-Way Activation
79 Total
300
Home-Based Businesses
Certain home-based businesses are currently permitted through a Home Occupation Permit, which the City of Pomona’s Finance Department issues in conjunction with a Planning Division review and clearance. As part of Activate Pomona, the City folded the Home Occupation Permit into the Activate Pomona permitting process, affording greater discretion and flexibility in enabling home-based businesses to succeed during the pandemic. Before Activate Pomona, home-based businesses were reviewed against the existing Home Occupation language contained in the Pomona Zoning Code. This language is limiting and based on a dated perception of acceptable home-based businesses from the mid-20th century. Relying on this perception not only inadequately reflects trends in home-based businesses today but also perpetuates classifications of home-based businesses that are biased along the lines of gender, race, and income.
The total number of home-based business applications filed represents nearly twice as many applications over the same period before the start of the pandemic. The doubling of applications, despite COVID-19 constraints, may be explained by multiple variables.
First, the home occupation permit application had not previously been promoted by the City but, under Activate Pomona, was promoted actively by the City, which increased interest in establishing home-based businesses. Second, interest in home-based businesses has increased in the City and County over the last several years due to the ease by which residents may start a business at home and rely on internet-based sales and services that do not require lease commitments, commercial property ownership, or investment in tenant improvements.
There are three trends in home-based businesses, based on a review of applications submitted under Activate Pomona:
Artisan Goods/Online Sales. The City receives applications to conduct home-based businesses that are based on online sales and the fulfillment of orders. This may be artisanal, such as a resident creating goods and selling them online through boutique websites such as Etsy, or it may be commercial in nature, such as importing and exporting goods without a brick-and-mortar operation or warehouse. These requests are generally granted under Activate Pomona so long as the proposed activity does not have visible activity outside, is not storing goods outside, and is not forming physical, in-person customer queues.
Personal Services. The City receives applications to operate home-based salons and barber shops, among other personal services. The State of California, Board of Cosmetology, does allow such operations with a permit. This has presented a challenge for the City, as it has yet to have any local regulatory framework to permit such businesses formally. However, due to the overwhelming interest during Activate Pomona to enable home-based personal services, the Planning Division has been actively drafting standards as part of the ongoing Pomona Zoning Ordinance update to consider a path to allowing such establishments if they are first permitted by the State or otherwise follow the same storage, queuing, and advertising restrictions as other home-based businesses.
Home-Based Food Sales. The City receives applications to operate food-based home businesses. This includes catering, pre-packaged foods, and outdoor food sales. Home-based businesses are never permitted to establish outdoor activities in any format. However, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) does regulate cottage food operations. The City amended the Pomona Zoning Code—Home Occupations section to add cottage foods as an acceptable home occupation. However, a local permitting program was not established. LACDPH has a two-tiered permitting system. Class A operators may sell foods directly to the consumer and must register with LACDPH and submit a self-certification compliance checklist. This permit allows sales from home, at farmer’s markets and other food-related events, and through community-supported agriculture uses. Class B operators may do all Class A activities and indirectly sell to restaurants, grocery and food markets, and food trucks, subject to inspections.
The County follows the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) regulations on permitted foods, which do not support the rapid growth of bacteria that would make people sick when held outside of refrigeration temperatures. CDPH maintains a food list with ethnic variations and has a formal process to request that foods be added to this list. The City generally accepts applications that request the pre-packaged home-based sale of baked goods and other non-perishable items through Activate Pomona. The Planning Division has been actively researching the feasibility of enabling Class B operators, otherwise known as home-based enterprise kitchens, to be permitted through the Pomona Zoning Ordinance update; however, Staff has concluded that such permitting is impractical if not preceded by the LACDPH formally establishing a home-based enterprise kitchen permitting pathway. As of now, due to the pandemic, LACDPH has indicated that they are delayed in establishing such a program. To date, such a program has only been established by the Riverside County Department of Public Health. Staff will continue to work with LACDPH on monitoring the launch of this program and the potential to adopt a localized version of this program in future Zoning Ordinance updates.
Private Property Expansion
The City received 114 applications for proposed activities on private property. Most requests were to allow some form of expansion of retail or restaurant services into private parking lots or other available space on private property, including personal services. Personal services vary in need as County COVID-19 guidance changes. Other requests were for specific one-offs or semi-regular charitable events, such as food distribution or house of worship services. Outdoor house of worship services were generally permitted by the LACDPH, subject to COVID-19 guidelines. The Public Works Department works directly with the Planning Division to review circulation requirements for all private property expansion proposals. In some cases, applications have been rejected as the proposed activity was to be located on a property with existing circulation challenges or an existing cluster of intense land uses, such as gas stations with car washes and convenience stores.
Public Rights-of-Way Activation
The City received 79 applications for proposed activities on public rights-of-way. Nearly half of these activities involved the activation of the public sidewalk to support outdoor dining or retail sales. Over a third of these activities involved using a parklet or street closure. A parklet is defined as using on-street parking space for some type of activation, such as dining, queuing, public art, or seating. The City currently has permitted parklets at four locations within the Downtown Pomona Specific Plan on streets marked as 25 miles per hour or less. Parklets cannot be supported on streets with higher speed limits as the risk of vehicular collision is high, even with protective barriers. The City also temporarily closed two street segments as a pilot under Activate Pomona: Thomas Street between Second and Third Streets and Second Street between Garey Avenue and Gibbs Street. The City previously closed Second Street between Garey Avenue and Main Street but lifted the closure upon request from tenants and property owners on that block. The City secured $23,130.91 in grant funding from Active San Gabriel Valley through the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, sourced from re-purposed active transportation dollars, to purchase concrete and water-filled plastic barriers to use on parklets and street closures. This allowed businesses to pursue outdoor expansion without bearing the cost of public safety improvements. In September 2020, the Cultural Arts Commission approved a companion temporary art pilot program that provided an additional $49,999 in artist aid by awarding dollars to Pomona-based artists to paint the concrete barriers.
The City had to generally reject requests that involved approving outdoor events or gatherings that did not meet LACDPH guidelines. For example, the Downtown Pomona Owner’s Association requested activation for the regularly scheduled Art Walk held monthly. The City requested permission from LACDPH for this event but was denied in the early days of COVID-19 protocols and therefore did not formally approve this event during the majority of the pandemic, along with other similar events classified as gatherings. Moreover, the City could not receive LACDPH permission to approve permits to support live entertainment, including concerts or other temporary public assembly uses, except the restricted guidelines pertaining to house of worship services held outdoors. The purpose of City-initiated street closures and parklets was to recognize the challenging reality of businesses that are unable to host gatherings or community events in typical ways and provided an opportunity for ample outdoor space without vehicular interference to facilitate social distancing and safer alternatives that the LACDPH may approve.
Ensuring Pilot Program Intents Were Met
When the City Council approved the pilot program on June 15, 2020, the regulatory framework was based upon four key criteria that work together to form a robust program. These questions are re-stated below with updates.
Equity. Do the regulations benefit all residents and business owners citywide, or only a specific few? How can regulations reflect a broader range and type of restaurants and retailers, and neighborhoods? Yes. The 300 applications are located in neighborhoods across the entire city. Moreover, the applications are not limited to restaurant or dining, but include personal services, recreation and fitness, public art, passive seating, informational uses, and home-based businesses.
Liability. Do the regulations satisfactorily address liability and risk management concerns jurisdictions contend with in the public right-of-way? Do the regulations account for insurance requirements? Yes. The City has developed strict public safety standards for street closures and parklets, including using concrete or plastic water-filled barriers on streets with speed limits less than 25 miles per hour. Moreover, the City’s Risk Manager reviews each request for activities in the public rights-of-way for insurance requirements. The Risk Manager has explored innovative opportunities for the City to streamline insurance requirements for future permits.
Safety. Do the regulations satisfactorily define development and operational standards that can be enforced by Code Enforcement and used to preserve public health and safety? Do the regulations adequately balance the need for flexible accommodations against the need for safety? Yes. The regulations principally track the guidance provided by the LACDPH, but also relies on Pomona City Code and Pomona Zoning Code. While typical community events such as art walks or concerts have been denied permits, which can be a source of frustration for all involved, the restrictive nature of COVID-19 protocols established by LACDPH prohibited the City’s legal ability to pursue more flexible accommodations as they could endanger public health and safety.
Practicality. Do the regulations provide a clear, quick, low-cost pathway to activating a public or private space? Are the regulations accessible and communicated well? Yes. The permit application took approximately 15 to 30 minutes to complete. There was no cost to apply for or procure a permit. The City was overwhelmed by the demand to apply to the pilot program, which caused tangible delays in issuing permits. However, as the program matured, the City has streamlined the review of applications as it better understood public health and safety requirements. The City communicated the program requirements through official social media channels and stakeholders such as the Downtown Pomona Owner’s Association, Pomona Chamber of Commerce, Camara de Comercio Hispana de Pomona, and in-person visits to City Hall counters.
Acknowledging Business and Resident Resilience and Innovation The pandemic provided a silver-lining opportunity for the City of Pomona to witness first-hand the types of entrepreneurial activity and business interests that residents and businesses sought to pursue across the City. For example, the City received numerous innovative and unprecedented requests for home-based businesses that would enable Pomona residents who faced financial uncertainty a pathway to earn additional income through the sale of goods and merchandise online or other similar entrepreneurial pursuits from home. As another example, local businesses pursued creative strategies to keep their business open, such as Zumba studios that used basic masking tape to establish outdoor areas on the sidewalk to conduct classes, yoga acrobatics that were enabled along Second Street in Downtown Pomona, barber shops and nail salons that carried out personal services in open air environments while still maintaining compliance with State licensing regulations, or breweries that coordinated with LACDPH to enable food services at parklets to boost revenue.
Next Steps
Based on the trends observed in home-based businesses, private property expansion, and public rights-of-way activation carried out over the last three years under Activate Pomona, the Planning Division seeks to pursue the following next steps:
Immediate Actions:
Per the resolution establishing the Activate Pomona Permit Program (Attachment 1, Exhibit A, Page 8), the City Manager will promulgate a procedure to phase out the program and permits as follows:
No new permits will be accepted under the Activate Pomona Permit Program, and relief on standards in the City and Zoning code will revert to current standards.
Existing activity conducted under valid Activate Pomona permits may continue operations until December 31, 2023. After this date, the activity associated with the valid Activate Pomona permit must cease and is subject to code enforcement. This includes activities related to public rights of way activation, private property expansion, and temporary art.
Existing home-based businesses under valid Activate Pomona permits may continue operations unless, at renewal, the use associated with the valid Activate Pomona permit is no longer permitted in the Pomona Zoning Ordinance under home-based businesses land use permissions. If the use is no longer permitted, the home-based business must cease operations.
Long-Term Actions:
Expand the definition of home-based businesses in the update to the Pomona Zoning Ordinance to capture a broader range of emerging entrepreneurial activity conducted by residents.
Re-write the Temporary Use Permit development and use standards in the update to the Pomona Zoning Ordinance that regulates private property expansion to enable outdoor dining, patios, and other business expansion.
Consider establishing parklets and other public rights of way activations as part of the Citywide Complete Streets Ordinance.
Permanently establish a Temporary Art Permit pathway in the Pomona Zoning Ordinance update and continue enabling public spaces to be activated using public art and supporting the local artist community.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment No. 1: Resolution No. 2020-98 (Adopting Activate Pomona Pilot Program) Attachment No. 2: Resolution No. 2020-165 (Extending Expiration of Activate Pomona) Prepared by:
Ata Khan
Planning Manager
Alex Jimenez
Associate Planner
Report on Activate Pomona Pilot Program