May 24, 2022
Long Beach City Council
Civic Center Plaza
411 West Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802
RE: Agenda Item # 24: Adopt Resolution of Intention to modify and renew Downtown Long Beach Property and Business Improvement District.
Dear Mayor Garcia and Honorable Members of City Council,
Please accept this correspondence on behalf of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance (“DLBA”) Board of Directors and enter into the public record for the City Council meeting scheduled on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, our support to adopt a Resolution of Intention to renew the Downtown Property-Based Improvement District (PBID).
On Tuesday, April 12, the DLBA reached a crucial milestone in its collective efforts to renew the Downtown Property -Based Improvement District. In this first phase, we received the required number of signed petitions (50% +1) from commercial and residential property owners in f avor of proceeding with the next step of renewing the PBID. The DLBA has received 506 signed petitions, with 348 in favor, representing 52% of total assessments, and 158 opposed.
Since its establishment in 1998, the PBID has been renewed twice, providing a consistent level of service in the Downtown for 25 -years. Services include economic development for small businesses, place management projects to activate spaces, and special events programming to market Downtown. Moreover, nearly 64% of PBID funding is devoted t o clean, safe and beautification:
• Weekly sidewalk pressure washing
• Weekly light landscaping and weed removal
• Daily removal of trash, debris, and graffiti removal
• Daily patrols of Safety Ambassadors and nuisance calls • Outreach and assistance to unhoused individuals in Downtown
The PBID yearly results speaks for itself. Most recently, DLBA’s Clean and Safe team hauled away 85,500 pounds of trash, removed nearly 10,000 stickers and instances of graffiti, and logged 5,900 calls for business assistance. Our Economic Development programming has put into action more than $400,000 in available grants and funds to assist local business owners and independent contractors , including working closely with the City ’s Economic Development Department. DLBA’s Community Grants and Capital Improvement Challenge has awarded $136,000 in funding for projects, including the Cesar Chavez Amphitheatre and Promenade Square Park children’s playground.
With the proposed PBID renewal, DLBA h as focused on outreach to the Downtown community to form guiding principles for the next ten years. DLBA Staff and Board incorporated community feedback into an updated Strategic Plan, which set the foundation for the next decade of PBID services. The renewal of the PBID will focus resources to do the following:
• Improve outcomes and services for people experiencing homelessness in Downtown by hiring a Homeless Outreach Manager with casework and social work experience. • Improve both the perception and reality of safety in Downtown and increasing safety ambassador patrols
• Encourage daytime office population to return t hrough coordinated outreach, events, and engagement programs
• Help to fill vacant storefronts throughout Downtown with the use of a new Business Navigator position.
• Help to re -activate Downtown by bringing people back for events and other in - person programming
• Place enhancements to make Downtown fun and exciting, such as mor e public art installations
• Improve connectivity between different activity centers to create better synergy between neighborhoods
• Improve cleanliness and maintenance of public spaces through increased frequency of pressure washing and the addition of planter maintenance and tree trimming We encourage City Council and the Downtown community to review the Downtown Long Beach PBID Management Plan.
Having gathered the necessary threshold for petitions we encourage the Long Beach City Council to adopt a Resolution of Intention (ROI) and hold a formal vote of the property owners in accordance with state law.
Sincerely,
Loara Cadavona, Chair Debra Fixen, Chair-Elect
Board of Directors
Downtown Long Beach Alliance
Board of Directors
Downtown Long Beach Alliance