Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) will deliver the signed Property Based Improvement District (PBID) petitions, which represent more than 50% of the weighted PBID vote, to the City of Long Beach this week, announced DLBA President and CEO Kraig Kojian.
These signed petitions meet the legal requirement of 50% plus one of the weighted property owner votes. Voting percentages for the PBID are determined by the amount of assessment to be paid by the individual property owner; the assessment dollars equates to the percentage vote based on the total budget. The DLBA continues to collect signed petitions until the proposed PBID Management Plan appears before Long Beach City Council later this month.
“The DLBA created and sent an individualized petition packet to every affected property owner as a means of not only collecting support, but also educating our stakeholders,” said Kojian.
The Downtown Long Beach PBID is a special benefit assessment district formed in 1998 and renewed in 2003 that conveys special benefits to each individually assessed parcel located within the district boundaries. Downtown property owners are seeking to continue the PBID for an additional 10-year term before it expires in 2013. A renewed PBID will continue to provide funding for what the DLBA considers to be enhanced maintenance, public safety, beautification, and marketing and economic development programs that are above and beyond those provided by the City of Long Beach.
“The PBID has been a vital component to the great strides experienced by Downtown Long Beach over the last 15 years,” said Tony Shooshani of Shooshani Developers and owner of CityPlace Shopping Center. “Without the PBID as a resource, and in light of the state dissolving redevelopment, our Downtown would experience a number of setbacks which our community cannot afford.”
It is anticipated that the Long Beach City Council will take action on June 19 to initiate proceedings to adapt a Resolution of Intent to re-establish the district, set a public hearing date and issue ballots to each individual parcel owner, as mandated by Proposition 218. During the ballot process, every Downtown property owner within the proposed PBID boundaries should receive a ballot and will have the opportunity to vote yes or no.
As the final part of this process, a mandatory public hearing is expected to be held on August 7 when the returned ballots will be tabulated and the Long Beach City Council will consider ratifying or rejecting the proposed district.
The Final PBID Management Plan, supported by those stakeholders who signed the petition and presented to the City of Long Beach, is the culmination of an extensive public planning process that spanned the course of a year and engaged Downtown stakeholders to help develop, create and refine the document. During this time, over 1,000 voices played a role in articulating the community’s priorities and shaping the plan. The local community was engaged through a variety of public participation avenues, including meetings with the PBID Steering Committee, DLBA Board, Downtown Residential Council, homeowner groups, neighborhood associations, roundtables with stakeholders, residential open houses, an online survey, community forums hosted by the First and Second Council District, and an online public comment tool which provided another opportunity for greater feedback on a page-by-page basis.
To review the Final PBID Management Plan and remain up-to-date on the balance of the PBID process, please visit www.downtownlongbeach.org or call the DLBA office at 562-436-4259.