News Flash

The Nevada County Economic Development Office is available to help navigate local, state, and federal government resources for businesses impacted by the 2023 Winter Storm. 

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors declared a State of Emergency at a special meeting on March 7, 2023. As a result, the Community Development Agency is focused on priority permitting and waiving fees for building and environmental health permits for permitted structures, including septic and wells. This includes both residential and business locations that were damaged due to the snow events dating back to February 24. 

The Governor has also declared Nevada County in a State of Emergency. A State of Emergency helps enable government officials to seek state or federal reimbursement for disaster response. 

For businesses affected by the 2023 Winter Storm, please share the issues you are facing.  Every incident reported helps develop the assessment of damages and allows County staff to advocate for potential funding from the state and/or federal government.

• Please report winter storm building damage through this survey Nevada County 2023 Winter Storm Building Damage Survey (arcgis.com).  
• Please report operational or day-to-day impacts from the winter storm, such as staffing, spoilage, insurance issues, etc., through the Economic Development Office. 

Local Resources 

• Nevada County Economic Development Office. Contact Kimberly Parker (530) 470-2795 or kimberly.parker@nevadacountyca.gov
• Nevada County Economic Resource Council. Contact Gil Mathew at (530) 263-0730 or gil@ncerc.org  
• Small Business Development Center. Contact Jess Carr or Leslie Williams at (530) 582-5022 or info@sierrasbdc.com  
• Connecting Point 211 Call Center at 2-1-1 or 1-833-DIAL211
• Nevada County Contractors Association - (530) 274-1919 or info@nccabuildingpros.com
• Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe – 530 550-9999 info@ca-tt.com

 For businesses within the city limits of Grass Valley, Nevada City, or Truckee, please connect with city-specific resources regarding your building permitting needs.  

 State and Federal Resources

• Visit GO-Biz Community and Place-Based Solutions funding resources webpage. This page includes emergency management funding opportunities from both state and federal levels. 
• Visit California Office of the Small Business Advocate to review the disaster resources one-pager. That has a host of information for small business recovery. 
• Unemployment information: Senator Brian Dahle’s Office can support employees that need claim filing assistance via their website  E-mail the Senator | Senator Brian Dahle (cssrc.us) and staff on their team will reach out to folks directly. 

The Governor’s State of Emergency proclamation from March 1, 2023, authorized regular unemployment insurance for employees due to the winter storms beginning February 21, 2023, in Amador, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Sonoma, and Tulare county. Per the proclamation, the usual one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance applicants is suspended for all applicants who are unemployed as a direct result of these storms and apply for unemployment insurance benefits during the time period beginning February 21, 2023, and ending on the close of business on August 21, 2023.  As of yet, there is no Presidential declaration to authorize assistance for workers and self-employed people who do not qualify for regular UI benefits (Disaster Unemployment Assistance) in Nevada County. 

The Nevada County Office of Emergency Services is in the early stages of risk assessment from the latest storms. With that, the Economic Development Office will continue to monitor and provides more resources as they become available. The current goal is to get the community directed to much-needed assistance; once stabilized, the focus will turn toward climate resiliency and mitigating damage from future weather risks.