BY NOW, DOWNTOWN VENTURA Organization Director Rob Edwards is probably sick of going to City Council meetings with yet another request.
The energetic and savvy DVO head has asked for increased police presence, better lighting and sanitation in an effort to amp up business and tourism Downtown and improve property values. City budget cuts have foiled some of his efforts. So Edwards and other Downtown stakeholders have a better plan - a Property-Based Business Improvement District (PBID).
It's a pretty simple idea: property owners form a group to determine the area's needs over and above what the city can provide and work from there to determine the costs of extra services, which could include outside marketing efforts. Extra assessments are then attached to property tax bills and the money is collected by the county and returned to the non-profit group formed by the stakeholders to oversee expenditures. Unlike a tax imposed by a government, assessment rates are determined by those paying and thus they also decide how to invest those pooled resources.
The DVO took the first steps to get the ball rolling with a series of three town hall meetings this week to determine interest in the idea.
The plan has the support of Downtown titan Dan Frederickson, former president of Kinko's and builder of the area's newest class A office building. He has been very vocal about Downtown's safety at night and the need for a greater police presence. "Having the police visible around the area has a phenomenal impact," he said.
ALSO EXPRESSING SUPPORT are business owner and community activist Doug Halter and Chamber of Commerce CEO Zoe Taylor, who said she has worked in other cities with PBIDs in place. "By far they have become better communities."
The boundaries of the improvement area paying the assessments will be determined by a steering committee made up of property owners and any other interested individuals. That steering committee is in formation and first met on Wednesday. By state law, the assessments can be based on one or all of these three attributes: a commercial building's gross square footage, street frontage, or a vacant parcel's square footage.
Any decision to proceed would go through a petition and then a ballot process voted on by property owners with 51 percent of the vote needed to pass. Greater weight would be given to those who own more property. It would not need citywide approval, but would require ratification by the City Council and public hearings. The PBID would sunset in five years when it would be subject to another vote.
Extra services could be performed by the city or through private means.
"We are exploring this idea," Edwards said. "We'd be forming this district to enable ourselves to invest more and thus do for ourselves rather than returning to the city with hat in hand every month. Business Downtown will improve because of it. It's empowering and a very viable funding mechanism that works in over 1,000 other towns in America. It's like a homeowners association, but for commercial properties in a defined neighborhood district: Downtown Ventura."
Rob Edwards does a phenomenal job - especially now when times are tough. Ventura is lucky to have him.
How about hearing more from you about the Ventura County School Board Super. appointment and the 19th Senate race with respect to how these two events will impact the education of children in Ventura and the environmental impacts on our coastline?
Marie, any clue how the DVO/town hall meetings went? I'd love to know if the local businesses (not necessary the landlords) supported this idea.
To answer the question about the meetings, they went quite well. Everyone is in favor of the necessary changes that must be made. Rob Edwards has done an amazing job in the short time he has been there. Now we just need to pass the BID!
Yes, SoCalGal is quite right. The stakeholders at the meeting I attended Tuesday night all seemed supportive of it.
What I am told is that in areas where these PBIDs are in place, it is the businesses who lease space who campaign the most heavily for the measure to be re-upped when it sunsets. The PBID will also pay for marketing efforts as well as increased security, lighting and clean-up.
Show how stupid the taxpayers are....that they would form a group to raise their own taxes....
We already pay for all they services...we already pay for police services....everything is mis-managed at the county level....
"Stakeholder" is a psycho-babble word hijacked by politicians.....
....what is a "stakeholder",,,,,a stakeholder is a taxpayer....what is a taxpayer???.....someone who has his money taken by force by the government.....no sane person votes to increase his own taxes....
Andy, judging by the out-there comments you have made on this site, we all must conclude you are missing a few bolts in the old chassis, too. Osama Bin laden issued a cal to all Americans who don't want to pay any taxes to join him. Please, by all means, join up. Adios!
Until then, realize that taxes are what runs our democracy.
The business owners can call mismanagement until the cows come home but it doesn't fix the problems they are having now. I like the way they are taking matters into their own hands - they can vote the mismanagers out later.
Part of the money collected from the PBID will be put toward collective marketing efforts. This is not a service the city would normally provide.
RE: skip
I stand by my statement......
RE: Until then, realize that taxes are what runs our democracy....
That is the craziest statement I have ever heard....
"OUR" democracy was formed by armed tax resistors
....
Maire:
How many of these property owners charge their tenants triple net?
Wouldn't this "taxing themselves" just mean rent increases on the tenant?
I'm not sure the answer to this question, but would this process still be subject to proposition 218?
Thanks
Hi Scott,
I am hoping Rob Edwards will see your post and answer your questions, but I would say that while it is up to each individual property owner whether or not they want to increase rent to cover this, most of the owners are Ventura residents who have a vested interested in seeing this area thrive. Keeping good tenants is very important to them.
Yes it is subject to 218, and that is where the balloting process comes in.
I recently visited Ventura near Affinity Bank's main offices. I walked through many of the shops looking for a place to eat.
Is this PBID area the area with a lot of non-profit and eclectic tenants? Redevelopment area?
Thanks.
Yes, it's all in an RDA area. While the PBID borders are not yet certain, it's roughly between Thompson and City Hall and Fir to Figueroa. Affinity Bank is in it. Main Street has the most shopping/eating areas. The side streets house a variety of businesses. Not many non-profits, though.
Scott, Rob Edwards here. I'm the exec director of the DVO. My directive is to assist the property owners with the creation of a PBID if a majority of them want one. Allow me to answer your questions:
Q: How many of these property owners charge their tenants triple net?
A: We dont know this number and may never know it. An informal poll might reveal it, but its difficult to get that private information from prop owners--especially if they didn't use a broker to lease their space. It's irrelevant, really.
Q: Wouldn't this "taxing themselves" just mean rent increases on the tenant?
A: Yes and no, again, it is up to the landlord and the lease. Remember, the market is very dynamic and if a propery owner were to pass though the assessment 100%, the tenant could up and leave if it is unbearable. However, just like in a mall when tenants pay for mass marketing of that mall, downtown businesses are usually starving for such organized marketing efforts a PBID would deliver [and pay for]. A local convention bureau usually doesn't market to locals [so important now with gas prices] and the city-run street fairs actually bring in outside vendors to sell products right in front of the taxpaying merchants' stores. PBIDs are just like HOAs in that it's a pool of resources dedicated to improving common areas, i.e. streets sidewalks, safety, marketing, advertising, branding, landscaping, etc. Without one, downtown Ventura will continue to be a second or third-rate shopping and dining destination. This has been proved nationwide in 1,000 other downtowns that have experienced incredible rebirth. Look at downtown LA. [Prior to arriving in Ventura, i was the director of marketing there.]
Q: I'm not sure the answer to this question, but would this process still be subject to proposition 218?
A: Yes, first a management plan is created [the CEO's to do list], the district's boundaries set, and the financial model developed [the 5-year budget]. A petition drive takes place over a period of months. I will attempt to meet over 100 property owners to explain how this all works and channel their interest to also help. Once enough signatures are gathered, local govt mails a Yes/No ballot to all owners within the district's boundaries. Voting by mail takes place. Once opened and counted the local city council must bless the process and the PBID is passed, or not. We hope to have this wrapped up by June 09 with the first assessment dollars collected and invested back into the district in Jan 2010. It's all about enabling the private sector to take care of themselves.
I will have a complete PBID FAQ page up on DowntownVentura.org site soon.
Rob and Marie:
Thanks for the information. Please do not take my comments to be critical or challenging, I really am not an expert with how a PBID's work.
I 100% agree the market is dynamic. The triple net question is relevant simply because I believe the increased HOA style fees will lead to greater tenant rents maximization and tenant attrition over time as the rent affordability question changes. Space supply is limited, so lease prices will certainly rise over time.
As rents rise and new tenants move in, there may be some calls of "Preserve Downtown's feel" as a new face of downtown moves in, but I'm just speculating.
The marketing campaign and increased foot traffic will certainly attract a greater rental demand for those rental spaces and drive out the lower performers as these prices begin to rise. Since rental demand will go up property values will go up and smaller commercial property owners will sell to realize the gains or 1031 exchange out, most likely to their bigger neighbors or maybe newer larger entities.
Over time, as prices rise and ownership of downtown consolidates, there will be less pressure to fill vacancy and more emphasis on maximizing rent. Just a thought.
Last, since 51% of all property owners is all that is needed to accomplish these common area improvements, there may be calls from smaller property owners that they are subsidizing improvements that aren't coming back to them, but instead going to the larger ones with the PBID clout.
Last, I'm neither for it or against it, just was curious with how it worked and what were the consequences. If anything, maybe I helped with your FAQ page.
Do either of you know if the City of Ventura redevelopment department utilizes any tenant rental supports/subsidies in this area?
Have a great day.
Scott,
Do you think every city should spend money on a program to try to get their residents to shop in their city first?
What about a county level program?
Thanks,
Brian
Brian:
Let me look into it more.
Rob and Marie:
Some communities have allowed the city to be a voting member of the PBID. Will the City of Ventura be a voting member of this PBID?
In answer to your earlier question, Scott, there is not a rent subsidy program in place through the RDA Downtown. The city did provide a one-year reduction in rent to help establish a business (Aloha Steakhouse) in
city property and helped the Artist Union Gallery, also on city
property.
They are also planning to set up the business incubator space which by nature helps start-up businesses through providing a higher level of support functions than normal.
Second question: The PBID will need to be ratified by the Council.
Maybe Rob can weigh in here again. He is our PBID expert.
I am thinking about forming a PBID here in the north end of thousand oaks...to get us street lights...the City is so busy giving away our tax dollars, they have left this area in the dark for 40 years....we have people riding bikes in the dark, wearing dark clothes, you can't see them until you are right up upon them, we have people roaming the streets here in the dark after midnight...but the city has bent backwards giving millions of dollars to Rick Caruso's Lakes, as well as givng him a no-payment lease on the best piece of property in thousand oaks....the city has transfered millions to the school...even tho the schools and the city are suppose to be separate entities