Downtown Discussions
As noted in the Bulletin today, a meeting was held Tuesday night to discuss the formation of an Improvement District to provide additional resources to the downtown area. The Sun Post also had a more expansive article in today's edition.
Tuesday night's meeting was very well attended and included a healthy debate about whether or not property owners should tax themselves for maintenance, marketing and security. The proposed Property Based Improvement District (PBID) would allow the downtown to function more like a typical shopping district. Modern shopping centers normally have a merchants association that jointly pays for these services. Traditional downtowns often put themselves at a disadvantage by not working together to maintain, secure and promote their district.
PBID's have now been implemented in more than a thousand older shopping districts across the country and are a proven way to help downtown catch up in today's competitive retail and office environment. Assessments are based on a variety of formulas, but cost is usually based on the building square footage and the size of the lot. The dollar amount for a small business owner is usually less than $5 per day--far less than what it would cost for that owner to provide his own security, marketing and maintenance.
Besides the obvious benefit of pooling resources, it also allows for self-determination. While the assessment has to be approved by the City, the funds are controlled by a Board which is composed of the property owners in the District. In addition, the District approval doesn't guarantee its continued existence. The District's life is only five years--after that it must be renewed by the property owners. Almost 100 percent of the Districts formed in California over the past 15 years have been renewed after the first five years. That is certainly a testament to the effectiveness of these PBIDs.
I believe the primary reason for the high renewal rate is the process required to form the District in the first place. A business plan is required before the property owners vote on the formation. These business plans include very specific goals for the District and describe the means to execute the business plan. The business plan is put together in a collaborative process among all of the property owners. By including all the owners in the planning stage, it requires all of the property owners to agree on the goals and objectives for the District. Requiring this process means buy-in from the owners. Buy-in from the owners makes it much easier to successfully implement the business plan.
While these plans come up with specific actions and programs, that is not the most important achievement of the business plan. The reason these plans are well executed is because the plan creates a governance structure for the District. This is what is typically lacking in older shopping districts. While there is typically some sort of merchants association in a downtown, there are usually a dozen or more other groups that also claim an interest in downtown. There are also a hundred or more owners not participating at all. In other words, it is anarchy with no one group setting forth the vision and implementing actions for the District. In the PBID, there is one group in charge of all activities in the downtown. There is no confusion as to who decides. Decisions are made in an orderly and democratic matter by a governing board selected by the property owners.
Manteca has fallen into this anarchical pattern. There are a number of small groups all dedicated to different issues downtown. Some are focused on traffic bulbs, some on beautification, some on promotion, some on signage. In addition, there are service clubs and other non-profits all involved in some shape or form. While all these groups are well-meaning, without a coordinated effort, most of the energy is wasted--and at the end of the day, we have a downtown lacking identity and business.
The process currently underway is attempting to harness the energy of all of these groups to make a better downtown. It won't be easy. Stakeholders are understandably skeptical due to past experiences. However, a process with a proven track record hasn't been attempted in the past. This time, failure is NOT an option.
Tuesday night's meeting was very well attended and included a healthy debate about whether or not property owners should tax themselves for maintenance, marketing and security. The proposed Property Based Improvement District (PBID) would allow the downtown to function more like a typical shopping district. Modern shopping centers normally have a merchants association that jointly pays for these services. Traditional downtowns often put themselves at a disadvantage by not working together to maintain, secure and promote their district.
PBID's have now been implemented in more than a thousand older shopping districts across the country and are a proven way to help downtown catch up in today's competitive retail and office environment. Assessments are based on a variety of formulas, but cost is usually based on the building square footage and the size of the lot. The dollar amount for a small business owner is usually less than $5 per day--far less than what it would cost for that owner to provide his own security, marketing and maintenance.
Besides the obvious benefit of pooling resources, it also allows for self-determination. While the assessment has to be approved by the City, the funds are controlled by a Board which is composed of the property owners in the District. In addition, the District approval doesn't guarantee its continued existence. The District's life is only five years--after that it must be renewed by the property owners. Almost 100 percent of the Districts formed in California over the past 15 years have been renewed after the first five years. That is certainly a testament to the effectiveness of these PBIDs.
I believe the primary reason for the high renewal rate is the process required to form the District in the first place. A business plan is required before the property owners vote on the formation. These business plans include very specific goals for the District and describe the means to execute the business plan. The business plan is put together in a collaborative process among all of the property owners. By including all the owners in the planning stage, it requires all of the property owners to agree on the goals and objectives for the District. Requiring this process means buy-in from the owners. Buy-in from the owners makes it much easier to successfully implement the business plan.
While these plans come up with specific actions and programs, that is not the most important achievement of the business plan. The reason these plans are well executed is because the plan creates a governance structure for the District. This is what is typically lacking in older shopping districts. While there is typically some sort of merchants association in a downtown, there are usually a dozen or more other groups that also claim an interest in downtown. There are also a hundred or more owners not participating at all. In other words, it is anarchy with no one group setting forth the vision and implementing actions for the District. In the PBID, there is one group in charge of all activities in the downtown. There is no confusion as to who decides. Decisions are made in an orderly and democratic matter by a governing board selected by the property owners.
Manteca has fallen into this anarchical pattern. There are a number of small groups all dedicated to different issues downtown. Some are focused on traffic bulbs, some on beautification, some on promotion, some on signage. In addition, there are service clubs and other non-profits all involved in some shape or form. While all these groups are well-meaning, without a coordinated effort, most of the energy is wasted--and at the end of the day, we have a downtown lacking identity and business.
The process currently underway is attempting to harness the energy of all of these groups to make a better downtown. It won't be easy. Stakeholders are understandably skeptical due to past experiences. However, a process with a proven track record hasn't been attempted in the past. This time, failure is NOT an option.
Labels: Downtown
posted by City Manager @ 7:59 AM
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