Doing Business

Whether you’re a long established business in the Old Sacramento Waterfront or you’re looking to grow, you can find valuable resources you’ll need below.

We want you to have the grand opening of your dreams! Opening your own business requires so many moving parts, which can take away from planning a day to celebrate your new milestone. With our assistance, we can provide you the tools to host a successful grand opening, reach media outlets, advertise on social media and create a welcoming atmosphere for consumers. Fill out this form to get started!

Sign Ordinances & Application Process

To download the complete sign guidelines for the Old Sacramento Waterfront, click here.

To download the sign permit instructions, click here.

To download the sign design application, click here.

To download the city sign permit application, click here.

Street parking in the Old Sacramento Waterfront is designed for short-term visitors and should not be used for your business or employee parking needs. The city offers many programs from monthly passes in the garages to discounted parking for your employees.

• District Validation Program – These are stacks of validations that are for customers to offset their parking ($5 off garage parking) with purchases in your establishment. Please contact csteacker@downtownsac.org for more details about the program. 
• DEPP/PTEP Parking Program – This is for employees who are either part time or full time, and it offers them discounted rates in the garage. They simply fill out the form online and submit their paystub as proof that they qualify. The online form can be found here.

The qualifications are:  

DEPP (Full Time Employees only) 

• Earns $20 or less an hour
• Rate is .25 per half hour 

PTEP (Part Time Employees only) 

• Earns $25 or less an hour
• Works 30 hours or less a week 
• Rate is .50 per half hour 
   
• Commuter Parking Special: There is a $6/day parking special at the Tower Bridge and Old Sacramento Garage that’s available to staff but would advise that they book these the day before their shift. Click here for the dates available to reserve.
  • The details on this program are: Commuter Parking Special are available Monday through Friday. Commuters must be “IN” between 4:00 – 10:00 a.m. and “OUT” between 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. No discounts, coupons or validations are accepted with this rate. A maximum of one scan is allowed to enter and one scan at the exit to drive out.

Offer your customers an added benefit to shopping in your store or dining in your restaurant with the City of Sacramento Validation Program.

To download the application to join the validation program, click here.

Once you have applied and been approved, you may contact the Old Sacramento Waterfront District office at (916) 846-7922 or csteacker@downtownsac.org. Minimum order quantity equals 100 validations / $50.

The Old Sacramento Waterfront District Office of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership communicates through email merchant alerts and quarterly merchant meetings. If you are a merchant in the district and you are not receiving emails, please email us at info@oldsacramento.com with your name, your business name and your email address so we can add you to the directory.

All businesses that operate in the city limits or do business with the City of Sacramento must have a Business Operation Tax certificate. The certificate is the equivalent of a business license in other jurisdictions.

For more information about the Business Operations Tax click here.

For FAQs and online services, click here.

Take your business to the next level by becoming a marketing expert!

Marketing is crucial in the beginning stages of branding a business. Learning essential marketing tools will give insight on what consumers are interested in and how your company is growing overtime. Below are several “how-to” guides that explain the functions of popular social media sites and customer relationship management (CRM) tools. Learn more here!

The Downtown Sacramento Partnership is the direct liaison for the business community and is on-call to help current and new businesses navigate their way through public processes to ensure a profitable residency in Old Sacramento Waterfront. Let us help you make the connections and access the resources you need to succeed from small business financing and business planning to assistance with public permits and licenses.

Contact Chelsea Evans, Old Sacramento District Manager for more information at (916) 970-5226 or cevans@downtownsac.org

To learn more about events, possible road closures, new businesses, and more, in the Old Sacramento Waterfront District  join our monthly newsletter!  

If you would like to share your current job openings on the Old Sacramento Waterfront website, please fill out this form to share who you are looking for to join your team.

Here is where you’ll find seasonal events you can take part in to help cultivate community in Old Sacramento, and build more recognition for your business!