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By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer
May 1 -- Santa Monica is poised to collect $1.8
million more each year in taxes to spruce up Downtown and
keep it competitive. The price for the City, however, could
be granting property owners more control over how that money
is spent.
Clearing the first obstacle to boosting the number of businesses
taxed to bankroll improvements Downtown and reorganizing the
board that currently distributes as much as $200,000 now in
assessments, the City Council last week unanimously approved
a general plan that will drastically change how Downtown is
run for years to come.
"It's a great day…we have worked very hard to
get to this point," said Kathleen Rawson, executive director
of the Bayside District Corporation, which pushed hard for
the general changes. "The Bayside…wanted to stop
and make sure that you as a council understood where they
wanted to go."
Shaped by consultants after a ten-month study and approved
by the Bayside Board, the plan will not only dissolve the
current assessment district, which only taxes retailers, but
it would form a much larger one that would include restaurants,
hotels, offices and, perhaps, apartment buildings.
An estimated $2 million could be used to boost the City clean-up
crews and add other programs such as attendants at the public
restrooms and "ambassadors" to help the public,
especially at the bustling Third Street Promenade.
But for the plan to work, Bayside officials have asked the
City to give property owners -- who must approve the assessments
-- more of a voice in how the funds are used.
"We are looking at governance of the Bayside District
Corporation itself," said Brad Segal, a consultant from
Progressive Urban Management Associates (PUMA), which authored
the report for the Bayside District.
"Currently the Bayside is fully council appointed,"
said Segal. "The property owners have been very clear
with us that if they are going to invest more in the Downtown
area, they'd like to see more balance in that."
While Segal said property owners would admittedly like to
see the board drafted entirely from their own ranks, a compromise
would need to be reached to strike a balance all parties could
accept, Council members at last Tuesday's meeting agreed.
"It's true many in the private sectors will be assessing
themselves fairly hefty sums and want some more control,"
said Council member Ken Genser.
While council members said they agree with the larger framework
of the plan -- which would ultimately become a local law --
the real differences could grow more evident as the plan is
flushed out over the next several weeks and months
"In many of these things, the details really matter,"
Genser said.
One of the larger issues to be discussed is the board's appointment
process.
While some cities reportedly vote for a slate of candidates
appointed by a private entity, many suggested a model now
used for the City's Convention and Visitors Bureau, which
would give an equal number of spots to City and private appointments.
One appointment would be designated by the City manager.
Although the formula could work, a source of contention could
be who appoints the private members on the board, Council
members noted.
Overall, though, council members said they were comfortable
moving the general plan forward.
"I think as a direction that is a good one," said
Genser.
Still other issues would need to be worked out along the
way, including whether to tax residential property and whether
the landlord would be allowed to pass that fee on to the residents,
council members said.
Some council members also said they wanted to ensure that
public space -- a hot-button issue on the high-priced Promenade
-- remained under the council's authority.
Under the plan, the City would also enter into an agreement
with the Bayside to define maintenance services the City may
provide and the services any private firms hired may bring
to Downtown.
Performance standards would need to be developed to ensure
those services meet expectations, Council members said. They
added that there should also be assurances that the finances
are open to public and City scrutiny.
If the law passed, it would mark the first major change in
two decades in how the Bayside District – which has
sometimes had strained relations with the City, especially
over the homeless – manages the Santa Monica's roaring
Downtown economic engine.
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