Report Prepared by: Frank Quintero, Director of Economic Development
Title
SUBJECT: Presentation on Property Based Improvement District
REPORT IN BRIEF
Presentation on establishing a Property Based Improvement District
RECOMMENDATION
For information-only.
Body
DISCUSSION
At the meeting of April 15, 2019, the City Council Downtown Subcommittee presented their findings concerning visits and meeting with staff members from Modesto, Turlock, and Visalia regarding their respective downtowns. The City Council adopted as one of their action items the commencement of a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a Property Business Improvement District (PBID) in Downtown Merced. This is an important first step as there are tremendous opportunities to take Downtown Merced to the next level if property owners get behind such an effort.
Prescribed under the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994; Streets and Highways Code Sec.366000-36671; property or business assessments are levied in exchange for services not currently provided by the City. While the services provided depend on the needs of the area, typical PBID services include maintenance, security, signage, parking and transportation management, social services, special event coordination, tree planting or other capital improvements, marketing and promotion, long-range visioning, and business attraction and retention.
In California, BIDs and similar improvement areas are governed by two state laws: the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989 (which allows assessments to be levied on businesses within a district) and the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994 (which allows assessments to be levied on owners of real property within a district).
These laws set the general procedures for establishment, assessment, and public review of Bids. Proposition 218, approved by the California voters on November 6, 1996, which became part of the California Constitution (...
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