California state law (and the law of most other states) authorizes the establishment of a “Business Improvement District” (BID).  A BID is a district whose boundaries are selected by its organizers that is established by a majority vote of the property owners within the district.  Once a BID is established in conformance with the procedures required by the law, the property owners in the district pay an assessment into a communal fund.  The assessments are based on a formula that typically takes into account parcel size, building size, sidewalk frontage, and use to ensure that the assessment amount is proportionate to the amount of benefit a property owner will receive.  The funds collected by the BID may be used for a wide variety of community improvement projects, such as

• Constructing community facilities such as parks, public restrooms, or community centers
• Installing street furniture
• Planting trees and flowers
• Improving lighting
• Installing public art such as banners
• Streetscape improvements to make the area more pedestrian friendly
• Rehabilitating buildings
• Installing facilities such as ramps to improve accessibility
• Organizing community festivals
• Providing safety and cleaning services

Some BIDs are very creative about how they use their funds.  For example, a BID in Los Angeles had created a Cool District Program whose purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the district by planting drought-tolerant trees and plantings, installing photovoltaics on rooftops, negotiating incentives from the local utilities, negotiating discounts on bulk purchases of products such as compact fluorescent bulbs, etc.  For more information on the Cool District Program, follow this link.

In addition to the state law that authorizes the creation of BIDs, many cities in California have adopted BID ordinances governing BIDs established within their boundaries.  Many of these laws make BIDs easier to establish and allow the inclusion of residential property in a BID (unlike the state law).

For more information on how to create a BID in your community, talk to the BID managers in your city!

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