For Long Beach property owners, small businesses and their employees who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, help is on its way.

The Long Beach City Council approved a slate of new policies at its Tuesday, April 14, meeting intended to help folks in Long Beach weather the economic storm that has resulted from the need to close businesses and events to stem the further spread of the coronavirus.

The Long Beach City Council voted on a series of items at its Tuesday, April 14, meeting that will provide assistance to local businesses suffering because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This fitness center is closed, on Pine Avenue in Long Beach on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

The Long Beach City Council voted on a series of items at its Tuesday, April 14, meeting that will provide assistance to local businesses suffering because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This skate board shop and barber shop on Pine Avenue are closed in Long Beach on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

The Long Beach City Council voted on a series of items at its Tuesday, April 14, meeting that will provide assistance to local businesses suffering because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This paint shop on Los Coyotes Diagonal is closed in Long Beach on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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The Long Beach City Council voted on a series of items at its Tuesday, April 14, meeting that will provide assistance to local businesses suffering because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This nail shop on 7th Street is closed in Long Beach on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

The Long Beach City Council voted on a series of items at its Tuesday, April 14, meeting that will provide assistance to local businesses suffering because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This bar on Pine Avenue is closed in Long Beach on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)



The policies adopted by the panel include:

Requiring businesses in Long Beach with more than 500 employees to provide 80 hours of paid coronavirus-related sick leave (the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act covers businesses with fewer than 500 employees);

Creating a Hospitality Recovery Task Force to develop a plan for the industry to recover visitors, business travel, leisure tourism and hotel stays;

Directing city staff to work with nonprofits to create a mortgage assistance program;

Offering loans of less than $10,000 to businesses with five or fewer employees from a pre-existing fund intended to help small businesses;

Drafting an ordinance to create a worker recall policy for the hospitality industry so that employees who are laid off because of the crisis will be given priority to be rehired when the business can afford to increase staffing levels; and

Evaluating the possibility of temporarily suspending business licensing renewal fees, permitting fees associating with reopening, traffic control fees, fire plan check fees and more for businesses and property owners through the duration of the crisis.

“You guys are really looking at ways to ensure we really focus on bouncing back and reopening this economy, which we know we have to do when we’re ready and when it’s safe to do so,” Councilwoman Mary Zendejas told city staff members, who developed nearly all of the policy proposals, “while at the same time taking care of workers and small businesses and making sure folks are protected.”

Most of the measures did not include a specific end date because, as council members noted, it’s unclear when the public-health crisis will end — or when businesses will be able to afford to survive without assistance.

Instead, the policies will come back to the council for review every 90 days.

Tuesday’s votes came nearly a month after the City Council voted to move forward with a ban on evictions due to nonpayment in Long Beach because of the shutdowns that were forced as a result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Councilman Rex Richardson said both areas of focus — renters and those who own properties or businesses — are important to address at this moment.

“We gave direction to help with housing to make sure that folks who needed to shelter in place have roofs over their heads,” Richardson said. “The next piece, which we’re taking care of tonight, is a bit more complex: How do we make sure we protect our small businesses and we protect our essential workers?”

His colleagues behind the dais acknowledged that the situation is changing rapidly and tweaks to the policy proposals that were adopted Tuesday night would likely come soon.

Mayor Robert Garcia noted that Long Beach has worked with Los Angeles city and county throughout the emergency to align their policies as much as possible. The new proposals, he said, would likely be no different.

“I think that some of this is feeling our way through, adopting a package and then trying to work with our partners to align those,” he said. “I think that part is going to be really important moving forward.”