Fullerton : City Developing New Program for Downtown

To lure businesses to the downtown area, city officials are working on a new program that they hope will help fill the gap left by the dissolution of the Downtown Fullerton Assn.

The 2-year-old association recently disbanded after City Council members decided to discontinue financing the group, which sought to revitalize the downtown area.

David Politte, former president of the association, said Wednesday that his group was doomed when city officials in May struck down the idea of making downtown businesses pay for the promotion of events in their area. A majority of the council opposed the mandatory assessment district as unnecessary intervention of local government into the private sector.

Politte said dissolution of the association will mean “considerably less activity in the downtown area as far as promotions.”

City Manager William Winter disagreed: “It’s not as if the downtown is being abandoned by the city. The city has a great investment in the downtown. We’re committed to making it a successful area.”

That commitment, Winter said, will take the form of a new program, now in the planning stage, to recruit businesses to downtown and other areas where vacancies exist.

The city expects to pick up several of the projects either started or co-sponsored by the association, Winter said.

The association, which had about 60 members, mostly merchants, sponsored such events as the Founder Day’s Streetfaire. The City Council financed about half of the group’s $30,000 annual budget, with membership fees and contributions making up the difference.

In 1983, the city agreed to help fund the association for two years and then let the group operate on its own.