Appeal of BID Is Seen at Gathering
Cal State Northridge, which has embarked on an ambitious plan with Reseda Boulevard entrepreneurs to create one of the city’s largest business improvement districts, hosted a first-ever citywide gathering for people planning similar districts to swap ideas.
“What we’re discovering is that lots of people are trying to solve the same problems without talking to each other,” said Bill Allen, president of the Economic Alliance, which organized Thursday’s conference attended by about 150 business and property owners. “This event will open lines of collaboration and communication.”
As the economy grows and consumers become more affluent, businesses are seeking better ways to attract dollars. Since 1994, Los Angeles has spawned 25 business improvement districts, or BIDS, from Hollywood Boulevard to “auto row” in Van Nuys. Only New York City has more.
There are 10 in the San Fernando Valley alone, and an additional 21 proposed districts are in various stages of development throughout the city.
The idea behind the Northridge effort is to transform a motley collection of strip malls and residential clusters into a tree-shaded college town with sidewalk cafes, water fountains, trendy shops and, most of all, “a sense of place.”
“Some of the area is a little bit dilapidated,” said C.K. Tseng, a business and property owner on Reseda Boulevard for more than 25 years. “You ask them to improve, and they are not willing because they are worried they will have to pay higher taxes. You have to explain to them that this is for the overall good.”
Proponents of improvement districts say attractive areas lure more shoppers, which translates to larger profits, allowing property owners to charge higher rents.
The Northridge business improvement district was headed for approval by August, but it hit some snags, partly because the so-called “Northridge Oasis” advisory board is trying to do what no one else has ever done.
Business improvement districts are usually funded either by property owners or by businesses that lease property, but Northridge is attempting to draw on both.
While business-based funding has been secured for the Northridge Oasis, the more lucrative property-based process has been delayed.
To create an improvement district funded by property owners, the Northridge district advisory board must have the support of the owners of 51% of the frontage space. When the board submitted its data to the city for approval last summer, officials discovered some properties had changed hands, and the board fell short of the total needed.
Hennessey said members have been collecting signatures from new owners and are at about 49%. She expects to gain sufficient support by Dec. 1.
Hennessey’s group is attempting to raise $409,000 annually for the next five years. Eventually, the budget could grow to about $4.5 million a year to pay for community events, security, parking structures, pavilions and other improvements. That would make it the largest such project in the city, said Kenneth Bernstein of the Economic Alliance.
According to a Cal State Northridge study, 38% of last year’s students were “dissatisfied with the sense of community on campus,” and 50% “do not participate in social or cultural activities on campus.”
