Business Districts Deserve Support
The best way to keep a neighborhood business district clean and attractive is to give the merchants who own shops there as much control over the area as possible. Various schemes to revive flagging commercial areas from Van Nuys to Canoga Park have flopped in large part because the needs and abilities of shopkeepers were ignored as planners imposed their vision of what the area should be. Programs such as business improvement districts put the control where it belongs--in the hands of store owners who raise the money themselves and decide how best to spend it.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved two business improvement districts for the commercial districts of Canoga Park and Studio City. The next step: Business owners in the two neighborhoods will vote on whether they want to assess themselves for the next five years to pay for everything from extra security to fresh paint on their storefronts. If merchants approve, the two districts would join similar projects in Van Nuys and Tarzana. Already, 17 business improvement districts have been approved citywide and 30 more are in the planning stages.
In Studio City, merchants along Ventura Boulevard between Carpenter and Rhodes avenues--the heart of the community’s shopping district--would raise as much as $300,000 per year for five years. In Canoga Park, shopkeepers in the historic commercial core--bounded by Wyandotte and Gault streets, Canoga Avenue and Topanga Canyon Boulevard--would raise about $244,000 annually for five years.
The two areas are in vastly different stages of upkeep and vitality. Studio City, surrounded by pricey homes, enjoys a boutique atmosphere with furniture shops and trendy restaurants. But many of its buildings are nondescript commercial squares and heavy traffic along Ventura Boulevard makes it difficult to create a true pedestrian feel. In Canoga Park, historic buildings such as the old Madrid Theatre and the post office create an ambience unmatched in the San Fernando Valley. As one of the Valley’s oldest communities, Canoga Park has endured cycles of change--and its commercial core reflects those changes. Ringed by working-class neighborhoods, the business district boasts an eclectic mix of discount shops and antique stores, but there is little pedestrian traffic and almost no night life.
Strong neighborhood shopping districts form the foundation of the Valley’s economy. They employ thousands of workers and provide the sorts of goods and services chain stores and malls just can’t provide. But because the businesses often operate on lower margins, they can ill afford the sort of expensive marketing or constant renovation that bigger players use to lure shoppers and diners. Working together, though, shopkeepers can jump-start failing districts and keep successful ones alive. Business improvement districts allow owners to pay what they can afford and then give them the power to decide how the money should be spent. They are cooperative enterprises that deserve support from politicians, businesses and the residents they serve.
