Click here to read the ordinance.

At the August 10 meeting of the Richmond City Council, the Stoney administration introduced an ordinance to modify current Richmond City Code section 19-334.1; Carrying Firearms in Certain Places.
 
Currently, the code bans firearms in city-owned and -operated parks and facilities. The newly introduced ordinance would also prohibit the possession, carrying or transportation of any firearms in any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way or any open public space when it is being used by, or is adjacent to, an event that requires a city permit. 
 
This ordinance does not broadly ban firearms in these public spaces. Rather, it bans firearms when a permitted event, or an event that should be permitted, is taking place.
 
The expansion to the existing ordinance is intended to promote the health and safety of event attendees and city residents as a whole.
 
“The City of Richmond proudly hosts hundreds of public events each year, but I believe it’s in the interest of everyone’s safety to take guns out of these spaces when neighbors, visitors and families gather,” said Mayor Stoney. “Under this proposed change, Richmond residents will be able to attend public events with a greater sense of security, knowing that the city is actively prioritizing their safety.”
 
In 2019, the mayor introduced the ordinance that prohibits the carrying of firearms in city-owned and -operated parks and facilities. As soon as the General Assembly adopted legislation granting that authority to localities, the ordinance went into effect.
 
This most recent proposed change is also made possible by a recent amendment by the Virginia General Assembly to the Code of Virginia, which now authorizes localities to prohibit firearms in this instance.
 
“As a city, we must exhaust all possible options to reduce gun violence in our communities and neighborhoods,” said Mayor Stoney. “I’m thankful the state has finally given us a vital tool in building a safer Richmond.”
 
The proposed ordinance, which must be approved by Richmond City Council to take effect, does not apply to authorized military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, law enforcement officers or security guards contracted or employed by the City of Richmond.

##

The City of Richmond has recommended that City Council allocate $500,000 to create the Business Recovery Grant Program. Under this new, one-time program, grants will be awarded to eligible local businesses, non-profit organizations, and commercial property owners to recover costs from damage during recent demonstrations within city limits.

“Though many protests have been peaceful, sporadic nights of severe property damage have hurt our small business community,” said Mayor Stoney. “These grants will help those establishments get back on their feet and send a message to the owners and employees of those businesses that they’re heard, they’re valued and we’re in this together.”
 
The grants will be a reimbursement of expenses paid to repair property destruction during the recent civil unrest.  This could include window repair, graffiti removal and more. The maximum grant award is $10,000 for a single commercial property address. 

The city’s Commercial Area Revitalization Effort (CARE) Program is the proposed funding source for the one-time grant program. The normal CARE Program grants will not be impacted by the creation of the one-time grant program. 
 
If funding for the Business Recovery Grant Program is approved during the August 10, 2020 City Council meeting, the program guidelines will be posted on the city website and applications can be submitted electronically starting August 13. 

##
 

Venture Richmond and the City of Richmond Public Art Commission have been jointly awarded a $25,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative, which supports cities using art and community engagement to improve street safety and revitalize public space. More than 200 cities applied. Richmond was one of only 16 grant-award recipients. The growing coalition of project partners consist of ART 180, Big Secret, the City of Richmond, Gallery 5, Vanderbilt Properties, Venture Richmond, and Walter Parks Architects.
 
Richmond’s project consists of three conceptual elements that will transform the intersection of West Marshall Street and Brook Road in the Arts District/Jackson Ward neighborhood: a pedestrian plaza, an intersection mural, and a parklet. Each of these elements will be further defined through the public engagement and design processes starting in August 2020 with the goal to install the project in about a year.
 
“Collectively these elements build upon the momentum of the neighborhood as the nexus of the Arts District and enhance the route into Jackson Ward anchored by the Maggie Lena Walker Memorial Plaza a block away,” said Susan Glasser, Public Art Coordinator for the City of Richmond. “On a practical level, the project aspires to increase pedestrian traffic by enhancing safety and street life, to create a revitalized and beautified environment in an underutilized public space, and to promote civic engagement in the neighborhood.”
 
Walter Parks Architects will be providing in-kind design services and ART 180 will be coordinating the public art components of the project.
 
Venture Richmond is also contributing an additional $5,000 to this project as a result of the Park(ing) Day design/build competition the organization hosted in September of 2019. “It’s really exciting to see a lot of hard work by the community rewarded by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to make changes to that intersection that make it safer and more attractive to the residents and businesses in the area,” said Max Hepp-Buchanan, Director of Riverfront and Downtown Placemaking for Venture Richmond. “In the age of COVID, it’s more important than ever that we design public spaces like this for people to safely gather and make social connections.”
 
The public engagement process is kicking off with an online survey designed to better educate the community about the project and gather feedback from the public on the design for each of the proposed elements of the project. Community members are encouraged to take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BrookandMarshall. The survey will remain open through the end of August.
 
To view this release online, visit Venture Richmond’s website.
 
ABOUT CITY OF RICHMOND PUBLIC ART COMMISSION
The mission of the Public Art Commission is to invest in artists as essential partners contributing to the City’s economic, infrastructure, environmental, and cultural identity and growth.
 
ABOUT BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in more than 570 cities and over 160 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3.3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok.
 
ABOUT VENTURE RICHMOND
Venture Richmond, Inc., is a non-profit organization formed to engage business and community leaders in partnering with the City to enhance the vitality of the community, particularly Downtown, through economic development, marketing, promotion, advocacy and events. Venture Richmond provides enhanced property management services for both the Downtown and Riverfront including; the Clean & Safe program, beautification and landscaping projects and management and maintenance of Brown's Island, the Canal Walk and Belle Isle parking lot.
 
Venture Richmond Events, LLC, produces Friday Cheers, the 2nd Street Festival, the Richmond Folk Festival, and partners with Sports Backers to produce Dominion Energy Riverrock. Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, operates historically narrated boat tours and private charters of the James River and Kanawha Canal.
Both Venture Richmond Events, LLC, and Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, are subsidiaries of Venture Richmond, Inc.

For more information visit www.venturerichmond.com.

##

The Economic Development Authority (EDA) of the City of Richmond authorized giving participants who have already received a loan through the Richmond Small Business Disaster Loan Program the option to convert those loans to grants. 
 
The city has allocated $1 million of its total $20.1 million federal CARES Act appropriation to the EDA to pay for the program.
 
“Earlier in the year, the EDA stepped up in a big way and provided a loan program to help small businesses keep employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Levar Stoney. “With this funding from the city, the EDA will be able to forgive those loans, hopefully relieving some stress on those same businesses.”
 
To date, the EDA has approved 48 loans, totaling $934,920.
 
John Molster, Chair of the EDA stated, “The EDA enthusiastically provided a zero percent interest rate solution to help small business in the city, and we’re glad that those loans can now be repaid with the CARES Act appropriation. We look forward to figuring out how to deploy more financial resources to help our business community.”
 
The city and EDA are finalizing plans to launch a new grant program, using $3 million CARES Act funding, for small businesses that experienced financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Created in April, the Richmond Small Business Disaster Loan Program provided loans of up to $20,000 to eligible small businesses in the city to help pay employee wages.  Under the original program guidelines, payments were deferred for the first six months, with zero percent interest to repay the loan over 48 months.
 
The City of Richmond’s Department of Economic Development is contacting all borrowers under the program to inform them that the loan can be converted to a grant.

##

For those citizens seeking relief during the extreme heat and have no other options, here are some options:
 
Richmond Social Services Marshall Plaza Building, located at 900 E. Marshall Street, Richmond, VA and 4100 Hull Street, Richmond, VA, will be open from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 for those seeking relief. All citizens must wear face coverings while in the building and maintain a safe physical distance of six feet from others.  Seating will be arranged for the appropriate social distancing. (Pets, with the exception of service animals, are not permitted). 
 
 For more information regarding cooling assistance services, city residents should contact the city’s Department of Social Services Fuel Assistance Office at (804) 646-7046. Elderly residents with cooling related issues should contact Adult Services at (804) 646-7367. In the event of a heat related emergency, please call 9-1-1.
 
 
##