FROM BAYSIDE PAGE 3 Management of downtown stirs debate
CITY HALL — Santa Monica’s so-called “living room” could be in for a major redesign, but fancier digs will come at a cost.
Despite concerns about losing some control over downtown’s direction, members of the City Council this week agreed to delve deeper into a plan to reorganize the district’s management and financial structure. The move could mean additional taxes for local businesses and residents to finance such services as an ambassador program and increased maintenance.
The plan, which is being developed by the Bayside District Corp., a public-private management company that helps oversee downtown, is in response to calls by property owners for greater accountability and more control over finances to ensure that the Third Street Promenade and the rest of downtown remains an attractive destination for visitors and locals alike.
“I think we need to look at this (plan) for what it is, a good start, and also a very broad one,” said Mayor Pro Tem Herb Katz. “It is going to come back to us with more details.
The council also approved a loan in the amount of $80,000 to Bayside so that it can continue with the potential overhaul.
Tuesday’s meeting marked the first time the City Council, as a whole, weighed in on the idea of changing how downtown is managed. However, members have participated on their own in discussions with downtown residents and property owners over the last 10 months.
As was the case in those meetings, there are many differing opinions on how Bayside should proceed. Some invoke the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
However, others, particularly those with a financial stake in downtown, are calling for what they consider a much-needed makeover to keep the area competitive with other shopping centers such as Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and The Grove/Farmers Market in Los Angeles.
“In my mind, every retail community needs to evolve in order to be successful. It cannot stand still,” said Bill Tucker, a member of the Bayside board of directors and a property owner in downtown. “We aren’t broken, but we can always improve ourselves.
“We don’t want to wait until we are broken.” Tucker was joined by Janet Morris, also a property owner and president of the Greater Promenade Association, who said her organization is in favor with moving forward with discussions on governance.
“We need to change to make assessments more accountable to the community,” Morris said.
Talk of a new management structure for downtown began in 2002, when the council created the Promenade Uses Task Force to consider measures to promote a diversity of uses and activities on the promenade and within downtown. The task force made a series of recommendations to the council, including creating an ambassador program, broader and more extensive marketing and supplemental cleaning services.
Ambassadors would be designated city employees aiding visitors, residents and workers alike with matters such as finding restaurants, dealing with the homeless, answering questions and serving as extra eyes for the police department.
Concurrently, the Downtown Parking Task Force recommended increasing parking within downtown by more than 1,400 spaces, something which will take considerable financial resources to purchase property and construct structures.
In response to those recommendations, Bayside contracted with Progressive Urban Management Associates (PUMA) in 2006 to explore alternatives to the current organizational framework, in which Bayside is funded by City Hall and through assessments, with the council appointing Bayside board members.
Under alternatives identified by PUMA in a series of discussions with community stakeholders, a new board of directors could be selected by the council from a slate of candidates created by those paying assessments. Another model is similar to the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau, in which half of the board is selected by the private sector and the other half is selected by the council, with the city manager serving as the “tie-breaking” voting member.
To fund new initiatives such as “clean and safe” programs to address homelessness, PUMA recommended additional revenue raised by City Hall through increased parking rates be kept in segregated accounts within the city’s budget and reinvested in upgrading the downtown parking system.
Also, City Hall should transfer 100 percent of special business-license revenue to Bayside or its possible successor, PUMA officials said. Currently, about $820,000 each year is collected, with approximately 80 percent of the funds transferred to Bayside via a city grant. The remaining 20 percent is held by City Hall for maintenance and other needs.
In addition to that change, PUMA recommends eliminating the downtown business assessment and replacing it with a property-based improvement district that would include not only retail businesses, but all properties, including residences and government-owned uses. This would generate between $1.4 million and $2.1 million annually.
It has been suggested that those living closer to the promenade would pay more in assessments because they would receive more services than those living on the outskirts of downtown.
Councilman Kevin McKeown raised several concerns about the new assessment district and how it might affect tenants in downtown apartments, who may be forced to pay more in rent. He also expressed disappointment at the possibility of privatizing jobs that are currently done by city workers.
McKeown seemed to want assurances that residents would be actively involved in any new governing board.
“I’m already troubled by Bayside’s privatization of public space,” McKeown said.“Third Street may be the promenade, but it still is a city street.I’m concerned we are turning over too much control of our downtown, the entire community’s downtown. When I heard about an assessment district that is more accountable to the community,I have to wonder what community that is.”
The city manager and others on the council acknowledged that maintenance workers are stretched too thin and seemed open to the idea of having assessments pay for additional services. In moving forward, Kathleen Rawson, executive director of Bayside, said her staff will continue to strive for a “broad based community effort to consensus and move in a direction that everyone can agree on.”
Rawson said it has never been the intention of Bayside to push public employees out. On the contrary, she said Bayside has tried to get the maintenance budget increased.
“I think this is a matter of having more time for some folks to understand where we are coming from,”Rawson said. “This has been a very labor intensive process and will continue to be as we bring broad ideas to the table with a very broad group of people and try to hammer out the details.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 27, 2007. Read the original PDF.