CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
5/23/2022
1 SUBJECT:
Resolution of Intention to Continue the Business Improvement District Program and Levy the Annual Assessments for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Adopt the resolution entitled "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Confirming the Annual Report of the Advisory Board of the Pacifica Hotels and Business Improvement District (BID) and Declaring the City Council's Intention to Continue the BID Program and Levy the Annual Assessments for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 at the Same Rate as Levied in the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Without Change" and set the date of June 13, 2022, for the Public Hearing on the annual levy of assessments on hotels within the BID.
STAFF CONTACT:
Yulia Carter,
Chief Financial Sustainability Officer
(650) 738-7402
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to California Streets and Highways Code sections 36500 et. seq., the City Council of the City of Pacifica adopted Ordinance No. 714-C.S creating the Pacifica Hotel Business Improvement District and levying an annual assessment of $1.00 per room per day of occupancy on the hotels in the City. The Pacifica BID was established under the authority of the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989, which does not require identifying a “managing agency.” Many Bay Area Cities with BIDs established under the same law manage their BID operations internally. However, the City Council has previously appointed Chamber of Commerce as the BID Managing Agency. Currently the Advisory Committee consists of, but not limited to, one representative from each of the hotels, the managing director of the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, and one representative from the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
The attached Pacifica Hotel Business Improvement District (BID) report was filed with the City Clerk on May 13, 2022 detailing proposed assessments and expenditures budget, as required by the California Streets and Highways Code Section 36533. The report was prepared by the Chamber of Commerce acting as the Managing Agency for the hotels in the BID and on behalf of the Pacifica Hotel BID Advisory Committee (Attachment 1).
The report describes the uses for BID assessments in 2022 and includes a projected report of resources and uses for the upcoming FY 2022-23 should the Council chose to continue levying the assessment. There are no proposed changes in the boundaries of the Pacifica Hotel Business Improvement District this year.
The outlined activities for FY2022-2023 include the same type of activities as in the previous Pacifica City Council 2
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year, including:
1. Marketing plan and proposed budget for FY2022-23, including advertising, website, promotional campaigns, PR, and additional marketing plan as detailed in section F of the attached report;
2. VisitPacifica.com website and Public Relations initiatives to promote Pacifica as destination, including updating pictures and updates, and monthly blog features, and content management (photo library, blog materials, and destination stories);
3. Public Relations and Marketing, including working with editors and local Anchor magazine, partnership and media visits with SFTravel and San Mateo CVB, social media posts.
The proposed assessment is intended to be continued at $1.00 per room per day occupancy and is estimated to generate $70,000 in revenues for the BID activities in FY2022-23 plus an estimated rollover funds of $977.30 from the current year.
It is proposed in the report that the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce will continue to serve as the Managing Agency for the BID at the proposed annual administrative fee of $35,000 or 50% of the projected FY2022-23 BID assessment to pay a part time administrator, maintaining a visitor center, and supporting marketing efforts such as the Visitor Guide and Business Directory as reported on page 5 and further spelled out in the Exibit C of the attached report.
Before levying the assessment for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the statute requires the City Council to adopt a resolution:
1. Review and accept the annual report filed by the BID;
2. Declaring its intent to levy the annual assessment and the rate at which theassessment will be levied; and
3. Setting the time and place for a public hearing to receive any protests.
Staff reviewed the proposed Marketing Plan for FY 2022-23 listed in the following sections of the report:
E) PR/Marketing/Website Overview 2022-2023
F) Additional Marketing Plan of Actions 2022-2023
G) Marketing Action Plan Projected Budget for 2022-2023 (*Appendix) After reviewing the report, City staff has identified a number of questions related to the proposed marketing plan. This year the City Council adopted a Marketing Plan to attract visitors to Pacifica and benefit local hotels and City staff has made efforts to collaborate with the BID on strategies such as a “work-cation” promotion that would directly benefit the hotels, investing in the hospitality industry and promoting Pacifica as an overnight destination. In staff’s assessment of the BID’s marketing plan, there appears to be a lot of duplication of efforts. As of this report release, City staff has not achieved a collaborative approach with the BID administrative team, but City staff hopes to arrange a meeting with the BID administrative team and hotel representatives to reduce duplication and achieve collaboration. Examples of duplicative efforts from the BID report include 1) the suggestion of a new “staycation” program for FY 2022-23 (pg. 7), which appears to be redundant with the City program approved by Council, and 2) investment in a Shop Local campaign and creating a separate page on the “Visit Pacifica” website at the estimated cost to BID between $10,500 and $14,500 (pg.6) when the City has already launched this program under the name of ShopPacifica that is currently being promoted and paid for by the City. In addition, City staff also needs to clarify a legal question about whether there can be an allocation of funds to be approved by BID members payable for services performed by the BID members themselves.
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It is the City’s intent to build a greater collaboration and coordination of efforts with the BID to identify key performance measures and better align the BID and City resources, unify marketing efforts toward the same goals to promote Pacifica as a destination, assist hotels with improving their occupancy rates throughout the year, and improve the hospitality industry and local economy in general.
Therefore, the City Manager recommends that the Council adopt the resolution of intent to continue the assessment, set the public hearing date for June 13, 2022, and direct staff to work with the BID members by conducting a meeting with the BID members and City Council liaisons to the Economic Development Committee to clarify the proposed Marketing Plan and Budget allocation to identify common goals and reach collaboration before the public hearing date.
Written and oral protests to the levy of the annual assessment may be made at the public hearing in the form and manner prescribed in Sections 36625 and 36626 of the California Streets and Highway Code up until the close of the public hearing.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
1. The City Council may elect not to renew the Pacifica Hotel BID for FY2022-23, and redirect marketing efforts and goals of promoting Pacifica's hotels and the City of Pacifica as a tourist and visitor-serving destination to the City;
2. The City Council could decide to delay adoption of the resolution until a later date once further collaborative discussions have occurred with the BID.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
"Fiscal Sustainability" includes investing in economic development to increase revenues, funding a reserve/emergency fund, and being well prepared for grant opportunities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no significant fiscal impact associated with this action, except for the City administrative cost of processing BID pass-through payments that are collected by the City.
The City collects no fee for administering the BID.
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ORIGINATED BY:
City Manager's Office
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment 1 - BID Annual Report Final 2022-2023 (PDF)
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RESOLUTION NO. ________
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA CONFIRMING THE
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADVISORY BOARD OF THE PACIFICA HOTEL BUSINESS
IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BID) AND DECLARING THE CITY COUNCIL'S INTENTION TO
CONTINUE THE BID PROGRAM AND LEVY THE ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023 AT THE SAME RATE WITHOUT CHANGE AS LEVIED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2021-2022
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Streets and Highways Code sections 36500 et. seq., the City Council of the City of Pacifica adopted Ordinance No. 714-C.S. in 2004, creating the Pacifica Hotel Business Improvement District and levying an annual assessment of $1.00 per room per day of occupancy on the hotels in the City; and WHEREAS, the Pacifica Hotel Business Improvement District ("BID") has been operating and levying an annual assessment of $1.00 per room per day of occupancy on the hotels in the City continuously since 2004, including the fiscal year 2021-2022; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Streets and Highways Code section 36533, the Pacifica Hotel Business Improvement District Advisory Committee has prepared and filed with the City Clerk an annual report regarding the District's operations that proposes to continue the program and assessments for fiscal year 2022-2023 at the same amount as levied for the fiscal year 2021- 2022; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to adopt this Resolution to acknowledge the Advisory Committee's report and declare its intent to continue the BID program and assessments as levied in the fiscal year 2021-2022 at $1.00 per room per day of occupancy on the hotels in the City without change for fiscal year 2022-2023.
WHEREAS, the City Council desires for the BID’s and City’s Marketing Plans to align and supplement each other to avoid confusion and mixed messaging and ensure collaboration in achieving the same goals of promoting Pacifica as overnight destination, assisting hotels with improving occupancy rates throughout the year, and improving the hospitality industry and local economy in general.
RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, that:
1. Declaration of Intent to Levy Annual Assessment. The City Council hereby declares its intent to continue the BID program and levy and collect the assessment of $1.00 per room per day of occupancy on the hotels in the City of Pacifica without change for the fiscal year 2022-2023.
2. Public Hearing. The City Council hereby sets Monday, June 13, 2022, as the date for the public hearing on the annual levy of assessments on hotels within the BID.
The public hearing will be held at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as practicable.
Public Comments may be submitted by email to: [email protected] and clearly indicate the submitter’s full name, meeting date and Agenda Item number.
Refer to the meeting agenda to be published within 72 hours in advance of the Pacifica City Council 6
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meeting date to confirm meeting format and public participation details.
3. Protest Procedures. Written and oral protests to the levy of the annual assessments may be made at the public hearing in the form and manner prescribed in Sections 36624 and 36625 of the California Streets and Highways Code.
4. Notice of Hearing. The City Clerk is directed to provide notice of the public hearing on the proposed annual levy of assessments within the BID in the manner prescribed by California Streets and Highways Code section 36534 and by mailing copies of said notice and this Resolution to each business subject to the assessment.
5. Effective Date and Certification. The City Clerk is directed to certify the adoption of this Resolution. The Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council.
• • • • •
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, held on the 23d day of May 2022, by the following vote:
AYES, Councilmembers:
NOES, Councilmembers:
ABSENT, Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN, Councilmembers:
_________________________
Mary Bier, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________ _________________________
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney