Small Business owners in Leimert Park may be happy knowing some financial relief is coming soon. The LA County Board of Supervisors recently approved a motion by Chair Holly J. Mitchell to establish a Countywide Anti-Displacement Commercial Property Acquisition Program.
This motion directs the Department of Economic Opportunity to develop a strategy for allocating $12 million in funding to support small businesses at risk of displacement. This motion also launches an acquisition pilot led by small businesses in the historic Leimert Park community of South Los Angeles that are part of the nonprofit, Black Owned and Operated Community Land Trust (BOOCLT).
“Our small businesses are the anchors of our local economies. This is about providing long-term strategies to protect small businesses from having to close their doors due to rising rents and real estate speculation” said Mitchell.
“My bike shop is the first one in Leimert Park in over 30 years. This is emblematic of how hard and long it can take for Black small business owners to return to the communities they represent once they are pushed out,” said Adé Neff, Owner of Ride On! and Member of BOOCLT. “We need sustainable investments to stand up to corporate buyers and this pilot and the anti-displacement plan are critical to protecting the make-up of our communities.”
Our Weekly coverage of local news in Los Angeles County is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support minority-owned-and-operated community newspapers across California.
