Tracy approves Business Improvement District

From the Tracy Press (click for link here):

The votes are in, and downtown property owners agreed to tax themselves to raise money to boost business in Tracy’s core.

At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, ballots mailed out to property owners last month were opened and counted.

The tally showed that owners of 59 percent of the property within the new district voted yes, with 10 percent opposed. Apparently, some people declined to mail in ballots.

The vote caps months of work by the city’s economic development agency, which hired an expert in the field and only recently swayed one-time opponents to jump aboard with their support.

This is great news for downtown Tracy. Unlike downtown Manteca, this group of property owners realized that combining resources was the way to make downtown stronger. The owners in Tracy did have an advantage over Manteca, in that they already had been working as a group for many years. This group realized that the small amount of money ($30,000) generated by the existing business district was really not enough to put together the resources needed to make downtown competitive with other commercial centers. With $135,000 in their pocket, they'll be able to hire a director who can coordinate the marketing and services needed to make downtown Tracy a viable business entity.

I'm hoping that the owners and businesses in downtown Manteca take note and realize that a Property Based Improvement District is one of the few available ways to keep downtown a viable business entity. I'm sure if they talk to owners in Tracy, they'll learn that this isn't another city-imposed tax. In reality, it is essentially a common area maintenance fee--which is how a typical shopping center efficiently charges its tenants as a group for common costs such as marketing, maintenance and security.

None of the costs generated by the District are kept by the City, in fact the City usually contributes significantly to these Districts. Instead of every owner paying for their own security, or their own maintenance--they can share this cost. Instead of every individual business attempting to figure out how to coordinate marketing with every other business downtown, they have an executive director who can pull all the information together and execute the plan. Instead of 20 different businesses all lobbying city hall when downtown interests are at stake, they have a full time employee who can speak with the power of every business in the downtown.

It is for these reasons that hundreds of districts in California have put in this self-asssessment. In addition, it is also why nearly every one of these districts have been renewed--as the law requires these districts to have a new vote after the first five years.

Let's hope that once the downtown finally forms an association, they'll realize that a Property Based Improvement District is the next logical step.

Downtown Vision Not Clear

A Letter to the Editor was posted in the Manteca Bulletin on November 14 regarding the downtown area and whether there is a “clear vision” for its future.

The author stated: “There is a clear vision for downtown. After two years and much discussion, the downtown business merchants overwhelmingly voted to change Maple Avenue back to two-way traffic, and remove the Main Street bulb outs that are obstructing and delaying police, fire and ambulance calls for service.”

There has been no “overwhelming” vote of the business merchants to change Maple back to two lanes NOR remove the bulb outs. As part of an analysis to determine whether there would be support to form a self-help, self-assessment Property Business Improvement District (PBID), surveys were distributed to both business and property owners within an expanded downtown area. The only “overwhelming” vote expressed was to not support a PBID. Of the approximately 475 business owner surveys hand delivered, and approximately 225 property owner surveys mailed, only 38 property owners and 60 business owner surveys were returned. This represents only a 14 percent return rate.

The survey asked participants to rank the types of services that might be provided through a PBID, with 1 being the most-desirable service, and 8 being the least. The services were consolidated into eight areas: Public Safety, Maintenance Services, Marketing, Special Events, Economic Development, Downtown Identity, Capital Improvements and Advocacy/Communications. The Advocacy/Communications category included the following description:

“Represent downtown issues, ie.
- Zoning and code enforcement
- Façade improvement program
- Bulb-out and median removal
Newsletter/website”

Of the 98 individuals who returned their surveys, only 11 took the time to rank these services at all. Of those 11 who did, only three of them ranked “Advocacy/Communications” in its top four priorities. In fact, this category ranked 7th out of 8. If three individuals out of 700 surveys distributed ranked this issue as a top priority - even just in its top four choices - this represents less than 1 percent of the people surveyed, and 3 percent of those who even responded to the survey at all.

It is also impossible to discern whether those who ranked “Advocacy/Communications” in their top four supported the removal of the bulb-outs and/or medians, or supported keeping them. In fact, one of the surveys returned had written on it “They should remain” next to this category, and ranked it 8th out of 8. Perhaps those who ranked it in their top four were more concerned about zoning changes downtown, or the Redevelopment Agency’s existing façade improvement program. It is impossible to know what their thought process was and, thus, does not support a claim of “overwhelmingly voted to change Maple Avenue back to two-way traffic, and remove the Main Street bulb outs.” A reader comment at the end of the Letter to the Editor even states: “And I am so sorry, but I must confess, I like the current configuration of Maple St. in front of the post office.”

Whether the bulb-outs and medians stay or go, or whether Maple Street is returned to two-way traffic or remains as it is, are matters that will require additional discussion. If the bulb-outs are removed, should those areas be retained for additional on-street parking? If so, would this also not contribute to “obstructing and delaying police, fire and ambulance calls for service”? Or should all on-street parking, at least in the 100 block of North Main Street, be eliminated. Such an option raises questions about sufficient public parking and traffic speeds in an area where downtown business owners are hoping visitors will stop and shop.
The issue of whether the bulb-outs have “obstructed and delayed police, fire and ambulance calls for service” must also be addressed. Anyone driving through the downtown area during peak commute times, whether in a private vehicle or in an emergency vehicle, are well aware of traffic congestion. Thus, if in a hurry, those same drivers will take alternate routes. I spoke with one of the members of the Manteca District Ambulance Board of Directors, who said the bulb-outs on Main Street have not resulted in one delayed call for ambulance service. The Police Chief and Fire Chief reiterated that statement. If they have an emergency call, they will use alternate routes – unless the emergency is on Main Street.

I assure the author of this Letter to the Editor, that “City Hall” is listening. We at the staff level are attempting to listen to constituents. And for the time being, the message has been far from overwhelming.

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.