Business improvement districts (BIDs) or property and business improvement districts (PBIDs) are mechanisms for assessing and collecting fees that can be used to fund various improvements and programs within the district. There are several legal forms of BIDs authorized by California law. The most common types are districts formed under the Parking and Business Improvement Act of 1989. Business improvement areas formed under the 1989 law impose a fee on the business licenses of the businesses operating in the area, rather than the property owners. The collected funds are used to pay for the improvements and activities specified in the formation documents. A similar assessment procedure was authorized by the PBID Law of 1994. The distinction is that the PBID makes the assessment on the real property and not on the business. A PBID is currently in operation in the City’s downtown area. Other areas of the Bayfront Specific Plan may also be ideally suited for BID funding.

The range of activities that can potentially be funded through BIDs and PBIDs is broad and includes parking improvements, sidewalk cleaning, streetscape maintenance, streetscape improvements (e.g., furniture, lighting, planting, etc.), promotional events, marketing and advertising, security patrols, public art, trash collection, landscaping, and other functions. Generally speaking, the BID format works well for marketing and other programmatic activities that serve to directly benefit area businesses (i.e., tenants), whereas a PBID may be more appropriate for permanent physical improvements that stand to improve property values in the area. Given the size and diversity of the LCP Planning Area, it may be appropriate for separate BIDs or PBIDs to be formed for different regions within the plan area. In this way, the collected funding could be more specifically targeted to the unique improvement and programmatic needs of each district. (Ord. 3352 § 2, 2015; Ord. 3238 § 2 (Exh. B), 2012. Formerly 19.87.003).