City To Help Calabasas Businesses Pay Reopening Costs

CALABASAS, CA — Closing down for months on end is expensive, but reopening can be just as pricey.

Now that most businesses in Los Angeles County are able to partially or fully reopen, the city of Calabasas has started the Calabasas Open Small Business Grant Program to help with the costs of reopening. On Wednesday night, the Calabasas City Council will iron out details of a program that will award up to $10,000 to individual local businesses.

“Providing these much needed funds to the City’s small businesses allows stores to reopen as soon as possible, while also stimulating the local economy,” the program’s website explains.

According to city officials, grants can be used for new equipment, supplies, safety reopening protocols, and marketing costs among the many other expenses incurred during such a large transition.

The grant program will award a maximum total of $500,000 to small businesses. To be eligible, businesses must have a physical, brick-and-mortar location within the city limits; have no more than 100 employees; have been operating in Calabasas for at least a year as of March 2020; and have been fully or partially closed during LA County’s Safer At Home Order.

The program’s website also states that businesses must also be in “good standing with the city,” meaning that businesses currently involved in “litigation, in breach of contract, or subject to outstanding code violations, for example, may not qualify for a grant.”

For more details on how to apply, visit the program website. Final details will be available Friday.