City Council Tonight: Proposals for Business License Amnesty, Redevelopment Agency Money

The City Council may forgive merchants who have failed to renew or apply for business licenses in the past three years.

It is scheduled to vote Tuesday on an amnesty program for business license fees and taxes, so long as merchants voluntarily come into compliance between May and November.

A memo from city staffers included in the night’s agenda packet states that financial impacts of the amnesty program are unknown.

“The city’s business license tax is nominal for most businesses and based on a flat rate,” City Attorney Omar Sandoval wrote in the memo. “An amnesty program my have both positive and negative effects on city revenues but may have overall positive effects when promoting increased voluntary compliance.”

Additionally, the council will decide whether it should give a reprieve to landowners who lease their property. A lessor is currently mandated to obtain one business license for every separate parcel he leases out. Under a new proposal, prepared by Mayor Sam Allevato and Derek Reeve, a separate license would only be needed when there is a branch establishment carrying out operations at a separate place of business.

On the consent calendar for Tuesday—usually meaning there won't be any discussion on the item—is a proposal to approve plans to expand the Ground Water Recovery Plant to pump 7.2 million gallons per day from 5.6 million gallons daily.

Also at the meeting, the council will convene as the governing body of the to review the California Redevelopment Association's proposal to have local agencies voluntarily contribute redevelopment money to local schools.

The proposal is in response to of the approximately 400 redevelopment agencies in California as a means to close the state's massive budget deficit. Brown has said the much-needed money will be spent on education.

The California Redevelopment Association's alternative to annihilation includes having redevelopment agencies voluntarily suspend their housing allocations for fiscal year 2011-12 and contribute the money to local school districts in redevelopment project areas. Agencies could also voluntarily contribute up to 10 percent of their non-housing tax increment revenue each year to local school districts for 10 years.

To view Tuesday's agenda in its entirety, visit sanjuancapistrano.org. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto.