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To request that the Mayor introduce such budget amendments and propose other such legislation as may be necessary to establish a grant program to be administered by the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond for restaurants within the city of Richmond affected by the spread of COVID-19.
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WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, the Governor of Virginia issued Executive Order No. 53 (2020), which ordered that "[e]ffective 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, 2020 until 11:59 p.m., Thursday, April 23, 2020, all public and private in person [sic] gatherings of 10 [sic] or more individuals are prohibited;" and
WHEREAS, on March 30, 2020, the Governor of Virginia issued Executive Order No. 55 (2020), which imposed criminal penalties for violation of the prohibition on "[a]ll public and private in-person gatherings of more than ten individuals," among other prohibitions; and
WHEREAS, these executive orders effectively have closed all restaurants in the city to dine-in patrons and relegated restaurants to take-out sales only, resulting in drastic reductions in employment by and income to those restaurants; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that, as citizens adhere to the prohibitions set forth in Executive Order No. 55, business communities within the city of Richmond are particularly affected by the decrease in business activity and the reduction in business income, which the Council anticipates will reduce the City's meals tax revenue estimates for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020, and the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that the City must act immediately, to the extent permitted by law, to mitigate the effects of the spread of COVID-19 on the owners, operators, employees, and patrons of restaurants within the city of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the city ...
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