City Council
November 4, 2025
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Ashleigh Kanat
City Administrator Director, Economic &
Workforce Development
Department
SUBJECT: Montclair BID Annual Report and
Intention to Levy Fiscal Year 2026-
2027 Assessment
DATE: October 2, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution: 1) Approving The Annual Report Of The Montclair Business Improvement District Advisory Board; 2) Declaring The Intention To Levy And Collect An Annual Assessment For Fiscal Year 2026-2027 For The Montclair Business Improvement District, Including A Five (5) Percent Increase In The Annual Assessments; And 3) Scheduling A Public Hearing For December 2, 2025.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
State enabling legislation requires that a merchant-based business improvement district (BID) must receive City Council approval before levying each fiscal year’s assessment. Adoption of the recommended Resolution of Intention to levy an assessment and scheduling of a related Public Hearing will enable the Montclair BID to collect its fiscal year (FY) 2026-2027 assessment. The attached resolution will also approve the Montclair BID’s annual report to the City of Oakland (City).
If the proposed assessment is approved, the Montclair BID will generate an estimated $121,000 of special assessment revenues in FY 2026-2027. Funds will be used to pay for special benefit services outlined in the Montclair BID Management Plan (Plan) on file with the Office of the City Clerk and the annual report and budget prepared and submitted by the Montclair Village Association, the Montclair BID’s City Council-appointed advisory board (see Exhibit A to the Resolution of Intention). The FY 2025-2026 annual report indicates no changes to the District boundaries or to the method and basis of levying the assessments; however, the Montclair Village Association Board of Directors is recommending a 5% increase to the assessment rate across all categories for FY 2026-2027, which is within the allowable amount per the Plan on file with the Office of the City Clerk. Key services include, but are not limited to, enhanced cleaning and public safety services, district beautification, including installation and maintenance of decorative banners and benches, and marketing and promotion activities, including special seasonal events.
Jestin Johnson (Oct 30, 2025 10:03:41 PDT)
Oct 30, 2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Montclair BID Annual Report and Intention to Levy Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Assessment Date: October 2, 2025 Page 2
City Council
November 4, 2025
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
1. BID formation and purpose:
Section 36500 et seq of California Streets and Highway Code provide for the formation of business and property-based assessment districts. Pursuant to this legislation, on November 9, 1999, the Oakland City Council approved Resolution No. 75323 C.M.S., which initiated the City’s Neighborhood Business Improvement District Program to provide technical assistance to qualified stakeholder groups to explore the feasibility of forming a BID within their respective commercial neighborhood(s). Pursuant to these efforts, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 12378 C.M.S. on November 27, 2001 to establish the Montclair BID. Since 2001, the Montclair BID has been renewed annually with the last City Council approval on December 3, 2024 pursuant to Resolution No. 90538 C.M.S.
Other BIDs (also known as Community Benefit Districts, or CBDs) successfully formed within the City include Rockridge (established 2000), Lakeshore/Lake Park (established 1997, renewed in 2002, 2012, and 2022), Temescal/Telegraph Avenue (established 2004, renewed in 2014 and 2024), Laurel (established 2005, renewed in 2015 and 2025), Koreatown/Northgate (established 2007, renewed in 2017), Lake Merritt/Uptown (established 2008, renewed in 2018), Downtown Oakland (established 2008, renewed in 2018), Jack London (established 2013, renewed in 2023), Oakland Tourism (established 2015, renewed in 2018 and 2024), and Chinatown (established 2021). BIDs are generally recognized as supporting the goals of comprehensive economic development strategies in various cities throughout the United States.
Revenues generated by BIDs are used to provide a variety of special benefit improvements and services beyond those already provided by the local municipality. Examples of BID-funded special benefits include, but are not limited to, enhanced maintenance, public safety, and marketing and promotion services within affected districts. Enhanced services of this type are intended to support increased sales and business tax revenues as well as increased job opportunities and economic vitality of the BID’s affected commercial neighborhoods.
2. BID annual report requirements:
Pursuant to California Streets and Highways Code, Section 36533(a), BIDs are required to provide an annual report for each fiscal year for which assessments are to be levied and collected. The report may propose changes to the boundaries of the district, the basis and method of levying the assessment, and any changes in the classification of businesses.
The Montclair BID FY 2025-2026 annual report and budget is included as Exhibit A to the attached Resolution of Intention. It does not propose any changes to the boundaries of the district nor to the method and basis of levying the assessment approved by the City Council for FY 2025-2026; however, the Montclair Village Association Board of Directors is recommending a 5% increase to the FY 2026-2027 assessment rate across all categories to enable the district to maintain the current level of services as costs of providing those services and inflation have increased. Recommendations to increase the assessment, up to 5% per year, are allowable per the Plan on file with the Office of the City Clerk. If the City Council approves the proposed FY 2026-2027 assessment that includes a 5% assessment increase from the amount projected in
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Montclair BID Annual Report and Intention to Levy Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Assessment Date: October 2, 2025 Page 3
City Council
November 4, 2025
the FY 2025-2026, the Montclair BID will generate an estimated $121,000 of special assessment revenues in FY 2026-2027.
3. BID annual assessment approval process:
California Streets and Highways Code Division 18 (commencing with section 36500) also requires that merchant-based BIDs receive City Council approval before levying each fiscal year’s assessment. Therefore, to enable the Montclair BID to collect its FY 2026-2027 assessment, City Council would need to adopt the attached Resolution of Intention to levy and schedule a related Public Hearing. The Public Hearing must take place no less than 10 days after the adoption of the attached Resolution of Intention. Following the public input portion of the hearing, City Council would then take final action on the proposed assessment.
The Montclair BID encompasses approximately 220 businesses located in and around the Montclair commercial area and estimates an upcoming annual budget of approximately $291,000, of which $121,000 represents projected assessment revenues in FY 2026-2027, and $170,000 of which represents private donations and non-assessment revenues, as indicated in Exhibit A to the attached resolution.
The billing period for the proposed assessment will be January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026; and services to be paid for by the above billing and collections will also occur on a January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 year basis,1 per the annual report and budget attached as Exhibit A to the Resolution of Intention.
The assessment is based on two variables which include business gross receipts and business type. If approved, the assessments, including the 5% increase for FY 2026-2027, will be collected and expended in accordance with the Plan on file with the Office of the City Clerk and the District’s annual report and budget, which includes an updated assessment table, submitted by the Montclair Village Association, the Montclair BID’s City Council-appointed advisory board.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
There is no anticipated adverse impact related to adoption of the attached Resolution of Intention; however, there would be a negative impact to the Montclair BID if the attached Resolution of Intention is not adopted, since adoption of the attached Resolution of Intention is a condition precedent to final approval of the Montclair BID FY 2026-2027 assessment levy.
Without a new infusion of assessment funds in the upcoming fiscal year, special benefit services paid for by the assessments would be curtailed or terminated in FY 2026-2027. However, if City Council approves the attached Resolution of Intention, then a related public hearing will be scheduled for December 2, 2025, after which City Council may decide whether to give final approval to the Montclair BID FY 2026-2027 assessment levy. If the levy is approved, then special benefit services in the district will continue uninterrupted in FY 2026-2027.
1 The BID’s fiscal year is the same as the calendar year.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Montclair BID Annual Report and Intention to Levy Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Assessment Date: October 2, 2025 Page 4
City Council
November 4, 2025
Staff is currently unaware of any policy alternatives or alternate funding sources that could replace the estimated $121,000 of Montclair BID assessment revenues during fiscal year 2026- 2027, if the levy is not approved by City Council.
The annual report form for both business and property BIDs was redesigned in 2024 and converted to an online format, allowing for comparison of statistics across all BIDs reporting, including many new data points that are now being collected regarding the impact of BID activities. These new BID impact metrics include standardized cleaning, marketing and outreach metrics, as well as organizational information, such as updated BID board rosters. Staff also worked in partnership with Urban Place Consulting, the City’s BID technical consultant, to design and provide training workshops for BID staff and board members in July 2024, which covered Brown Act compliance and best practices for non-profit organizations.
Staff have reviewed the Montclair BID Annual Report and determined that the described services provided in the previous fiscal year, the activities for the current fiscal year, and planned assessments and activities in the upcoming FY 2026-2027 are in alignment with the activities and use of assessment funds described in the Montclair BID Management Plan and approved by the assessed businesses. Therefore, staff recommends that City Council adopt the attached Resolution of Intention to levy the Montclair BID FY 2026-2027 assessment.
Levying this assessment for special benefits services advances the Citywide Priorities of housing, economic and cultural security and vibrant, sustainable infrastructure. BIDs provide additional resources (e.g., public safety, marketing, and cleanliness) that help make commercial corridors vibrant places that are consistently active, better serving the needs of Oakland’s business owners and residents.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Montclair BID is a self-initiated, self-funded, and self-administered entity. The proposed special assessment district will pay its own operating and administrative costs, including costs for assessment collections and disbursements, although the costs of staff time to manage the BID program are only partially recovered by the City’s administrative fee, which is 1% of total assessments generated.2 As in most municipalities that administer BID programs, the assessments generated by the BID create benefits beyond the cities’ administrative costs, as they tend to generate economic activity through increased foot traffic, sales taxes, and business taxes.
If the levy is approved, the City will conduct a special billing to collect the assessment and will remit the amount collected (minus the City’s costs of collection) to the Montclair Village Association, the District's designated non-profit administrator. Until disbursed, Montclair BID assessments will be held in a special trust fund established by the Finance Department on behalf of the district in Miscellaneous Trusts Fund (7999), Economic Development Organization
2 As BIDs renew, the renewed disbursement agreements have increased the City’s administrative fee to 3% to recover a larger share of staff costs. However, any increase to this fee reduces the amount of money the BIDs have to spend to support their districts.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Montclair BID Annual Report and Intention to Levy Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Assessment Date: October 2, 2025 Page 5
City Council
November 4, 2025
(85411), Pass Thru Assessments Account (24224), DP850 Administrative Project (1000019), Montclair BID Program (MBID).
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Montclair BID representatives performed outreach necessary to secure advisory board consensus sufficient to generate the District’s required annual report and proposed FY 2026- 2027 budget, attached as Exhibit A to the Resolution of Intention.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Montclair BID Annual Report and Intention to Levy Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Assessment Date: October 2, 2025 Page 6
City Council
November 4, 2025
COORDINATION
The Budget Bureau and Office of the City Attorney were consulted in the preparation of this report and resolution.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Montclair BID assessments will fund activities which are intended to support the increase of sales and business tax revenues, as well as increased job opportunities and on- going economic development of the affected commercial district.
Environmental: Special assessment BID revenues will enable the Montclair BID to continue efforts to strengthen and beautify the physical image of its commercial neighborhood by providing special benefit services such as litter pickup, sidewalk cleaning, and landscaping, which benefit the environment.
Race & Equity: BIDs enable a form of participatory self-governance, by allowing members of a commercial district to transparently and sustainably fund and manage services that benefit that district. Stakeholders themselves administer revenues generated by the district, contributing to community self-empowerment.
While the Montclair BID is not in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood under the Oakland Department of Transportation Equity Toolkit, the Lake Merritt-Uptown, Downtown, and Chinatown BIDs are located in such areas and utilize assessments to support safety, cleaning, marketing, community identity and special event programs for the high priority areas within their boundaries. Because BIDs contribute to community empowerment, the City entered into a contract with Urban Place Consulting to provide organizational assistance to underserved commercial corridors, which includes performing BID feasibility studies. With direction from the City, Urban Place Consulting has been engaging groups of business owners, property owners, and other stakeholders in underserved commercial corridors (e.g., Hegenberger Road), providing education not just on BID formation, but on alternative means of formal organization, such as establishing nonprofit status or a merchant’s organization, that can accomplish many goals of a commercial district while serving as interim steps to BID formation.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Montclair BID Annual Report and Intention to Levy Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Assessment Date: October 2, 2025 Page 7
City Council
November 4, 2025
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution: 1) Approving The Annual Report Of The Montclair Business Improvement District Advisory Board; 2) Declaring The Intention To Levy And Collect An Annual Assessment For Fiscal Year 2026-2027 For The Montclair Business Improvement District, Including A Five (5) Percent Increase In The Annual Assessments; And 3) Scheduling A Public Hearing For December 2, 2025.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Jenny Wong, Urban Economic Analyst III, at (510) 238-6196.
Respectfully submitted,
ASHLEIGH KANAT
Director, Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Reviewed by:
Cristy Johnston-Limon
Deputy Director, Business Development
Eric Simundza, Urban Economic Analyst IV
Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Prepared by:
Jenny Wong, Urban Economic Analyst III,
Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Ashleigh Kanat (Oct 24, 2025 16:28:35 PDT)