Central City Urges State to Allow Indoor Service

(November 10, 2020) — Sacramento’s Central City Property & Business Improvement Districts (PBIDs) – Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Midtown Association and R Street Partnership – sent the following letter to the California Health & Human Services Agency to urge reconsideration for limited indoor operations in Sacramento County under “purple tier.”

Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly
California Health & Human Services Agency
1600 9th Street, #460
Sacramento, Ca 95814

Dear Dr. Ghaly,

On behalf of the Central City Property and Business Improvements Districts (PBID) in Sacramento, we are writing to request the state re-evaluate the restrictions put upon Sacramento County businesses in the most restrictive COVID-19 tier (Purple). More specifically, we are writing to ask the state amend the tiered system to allow restaurants, museums and fitness industries to continue to operate indoors as they have been allowed to in the red tier.

California small businesses are drivers of economic growth—creating two-thirds of new jobs and employing nearly half of all private-sector employees. According to the California Restaurant Association, the State’s restaurant industry alone is the economic engine that employs 1.4 million foodservice workers and generates $7 billion annually in sales tax. Collectively, our three PBIDs represent over 35% of the total restaurants in Sacramento and as a whole generate just shy of $200 million in retail sales per square mile. Our restaurants are the backbone of our community and contribute to the vibrancy of our city. They have also been one of the most severely impacted industries by the shut downs of the last nine months.

According to Sacramento County Health Services, our County’s increase in positive COVID-19 cases has been tied directly to holidays, large family gatherings and nursing homes—not with restaurants. This is the case because of strong safety measures and guidelines that have been put in place for re-opening that keep both employees and guests safe. Governor Newsom and public health leaders have repeatedly stated that their guidance and decision-making process is based on science and the data. Sacramento County’s data is clearly linking transmission to private gatherings, disregarding this information penalizes businesses that have gone above and beyond to ensure a safe and healthy experience.

As we creep into the winter months, it will be impossible for restaurants to survive purely on outdoor seating as the weather changes. Using the health and safety standards put in place by state, local and industry leaders, we ask that restaurants, museums and fitness industries be afforded the opportunity to operate at a minimal indoor capacity in the purple tier.

Thank you for stewarding California through this very challenging situation. We ask that you work with the business community to ensure we protect the public’s health and allow for the survival of our small, locally owned businesses.

Sincerely,

Michael T. Ault, Executive Director, Downtown Sacramento Partnership

Emily Baime Michaels, Executive Director, Midtown Association

Michelle Smira, Administrator, R Street Partnership