Title
Recommendation to Approve the Park Street Business Improvement Area (BIA) Annual Assessment Report; and
Adoption of Resolution of Intention to Levy an Annual Assessment on the Park Street BIA for Fiscal Year 2019-20, to Change the BIA Boundaries to include Park Street Landing, and to Set a Public Hearing for May 7, 2019. (Community Development 256)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Amy Wooldridge, Interim City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Park Street Business Improvement Area (BIA or Area), which is managed by the Downtown Alameda Business Association (DABA), is funded in part from an assessment collected by the City of Alameda (City) from all businesses within that Area. Every year, DABA presents a report to the City Council on the activities and expenditures that have occurred during the past fiscal year. The annual report also provides recommendations on the proposed expenditure of BIA revenues for the next fiscal year. This year, the report proposes changes in the BIA boundary to include the Park Street Landing Property. The Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) requires the City Council to review and approve the report as part of its consideration of the annual assessment on the Area.
BACKGROUND
In 1989, following the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1979 in the California Streets and Highways Code, the City Council established regulations for Business Improvement Areas in the Park Street and Webster Street commercial areas. This staff report is for the Park Street BIA, which is managed by DABA.
The Park Street BIA is funded from fees collected by the City from all businesses within that Area. The pooling of resources improves the Area as a whole and directly benefits business owners through the general promotion of business activities and public events, beautification and ambiance, construction and maintenance of parking facilities, and special projects benefitting the Area.
State law and the AMC require the City Council to work in collaboration with a BIA advisory board. The board prepares an annual report and provides recommendations to the City Council on the proposed expenditure of BIA revenues for its Area. The AMC also requires an annual review by the City Council and a yearly consideration of the assessment.
DISCUSSION
DABA’s Board of Directors, designated as the BIA’s advisory board, has prepared the Annual Assessment Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20 (Exhibit 1). The report describes, in general terms, the activities and expenditures that have occurred in the Park Street BIA during the past fiscal year, FY 2018-19, as well as a work plan outlining the proposed use of BIA funds for the upcoming fiscal year. This year, the Annual Report also contains detailed financial reports, which DABA is required to submit every other year. The Base Reuse and Community Development Department staff has reviewed the documents and has found them to be complete and reasonable.
DABA’s signature events, which attract tens of thousands of patrons to the Area, include a Spring Festival, an Art & Wine Faire, and a Classic Car Show. DABA has also developed new, non-street closure events, such as The Whiskey Stroll and the Hot Cocoa Crawl. In addition to its annual events, DABA advertises and promotes events in area magazines and local newspapers, utilizes pre-movie ad campaigns at the Alameda Theatre for promotion of special events and the Area overall, and assists local businesses. These activities are designed to improve the vitality of the Area, increase sales and sales tax revenues, promote members’ businesses, attract new businesses, and enhance the overall business atmosphere throughout the Area.
With the evolution of the former auto row section of Park Street (north of Lincoln Avenue) into a more vibrant retail area, DABA incorporated into its FY 2018-19 work plan, a re-examination of its BIA boundaries to include the Park Street Landing Property (e.g. Dragon Rouge, O’Reilly Auto Parts). DABA has worked with City staff to develop a year-long outreach strategy to implement those changes. DABA has canvassed each of the 14 businesses to inform them of the expansion plans, the approval process, and the benefits of being part of the BIA.
DABA now requests that the City Council approve extending the BIA boundaries to include the Park Street Landing Property. The property is zoned as North Park Street Workplace sub-district (W-NP), which allows for a wide variety of retail, commercial, and light industrial uses for the future development of the waterfront. The sub-district also allows a range of site and building types for employment uses.
Any proposed changes in the BIA boundary would need City Council’s approval before levying the FY 2019-20 BIA assessment. The AMC outlines the following process to change the boundaries:
1. The BIA advisory board (DABA’s Board of Directors) files an annual report that proposes changes in the BIA boundaries (AMC 6-7.11.b.1).
2. After the City Council approves the annual report with the recommendation to extend the boundaries, the City Council adopts a resolution of intention to levy an annual assessment, to declare the intention of the City Council to change the BIA boundaries (AMC 6-7.12.a.1), and to set a date for a public hearing to be held by the City Council (AMC 6-7.12.a.6).
3. Notice of the public hearing is published in a newspaper and is mailed to each business owner of the affected area (AMC 6-7.19).
4. At the public hearing, the City Council shall hear and consider protests against the establishment of the fee and extent of the area (AMC 6-7.20.a).
5. During the course, or upon the conclusion, of the public hearing, the City Council may order changes in the proposed BIA boundaries (AMC 6-7.13.b).
The Park Street BIA currently has approximately 473 members, and annual fees vary depending on the type of business and its location. The Park Street BIA has two benefit areas (Zone A and Zone B). Zone A is the core downtown area along Park Street. Zone B includes the areas north of Lincoln and south of Encinal along Park Street, several side streets, and the proposed expansion area of Park Street Landing. While the businesses in both zones get the same basic services (listing in the DABA guidebook, access to the DABA website, assistance from DABA, etc.), when the Area was established, it was determined that the businesses in Zone B do not benefit equally from DABA’s special events. Therefore, the Zone B assessment is lower than the Zone A assessment. The assessment is calculated based on gross receipts. There is a minimum and a maximum assessment for both Zone A and Zone B. A minimum assessment was established to ensure that there would be sufficient funds to administer the BIA. The maximum assessment acknowledges that there are a few business types (gas stations, car dealerships, etc.) whose gross receipts are much higher than other retailers and that a cap would be appropriate for those businesses.
Per the AMC, each year the BIA assessment has an automatic Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase based on the San Francisco Area CPI. This year’s CPI increase of 4.5%, for example, raises the minimum retail business annual fee by $14.00 to $336.00 in Zone A and by $7.00 to $172.00 in Zone B. Included with this report is the FY 2019-20 BIA assessment fee schedule (Exhibit 2), a map of the BIA showing the proposed expansion area (Exhibit 3), and a BIA address list (Exhibit 4).
The annual BIA assessment requires a two-step process. First, the City Council must approve the Annual Assessment Report and pass a Resolution of Intent to Levy an Assessment. Second, the City Council must set a public hearing to approve the new assessment and BIA boundaries. The public hearing is scheduled for May 7, 2019. At the public hearing, the City Council can modify the Assessment Report or confirm the report as filed. All BIA members will receive notification of the public hearing in addition to instructions on how to protest the BIA renewal, should they wish to do so. FY 2019-20 assessments cannot be levied and boundaries approved if protests are received by the owners of businesses in the Area, which will pay fifty percent (50%) or more of the proposed assessment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
BIA billing is done concurrently with Business License billing. Revenues from the BIA directly benefit business owners in specified geographic and benefit zones through the promotion of business and similar eligible activities. The primary financial impact to the General Fund is in the form of Finance Department staff costs to process BIA billings and expenditures, estimated to be approximately $6,500 annually ($1,856 for WABA and $4,644 for DABA) and included in the Business License Program Budget (Fund 001, Program 2450).
The Base Reuse and Community Development Department staff estimates it costs $4,600 annually to support and to participate in monthly WABA and DABA board meetings and subcommittee meetings. This staffing cost has been absorbed within existing staff workloads to provide indirect financial support to the Area.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The annual renewal of the BIA supports the goals of the Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) through continued operation of the business association consistent with AMC Sec. 6-7 et seq.
EDSP Strategy 4 states: “the City of Alameda’s role is to continue to support existing shopping and dining districts by working with private property owners and business associations to improve retail spaces and the public realm.”
EDSP Strategy 4.2 states: “facilitate the inclusion of restaurants and retail stores and on-water access opportunities (e.g. floating docks with picnic tables and transient boat docks when appropriate) in new projects on waterfront sites - such as . . . Park Street Landing.”
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action involves government fiscal activities which do not involve any commitment to any project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4).
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Park Street Business Improvement Area Annual Assessment Report; adopt a Resolution of Intention to levy an annual assessment on the Park Street BIA of the City of Alameda for FY 2019-20, to change the BIA boundaries, and to set a public hearing for May 7, 2019.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Potter, Base Reuse and Community Development Director
By:
Eric Fonstein, Development Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Annual Assessment Report
2. Assessment Fee Schedule FY 2019-20
3. Boundaries Map
4. Address List
cc: Downtown Alameda Business Association