Business improvement district

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A business improvement district (BID) is a public-private partnership in which businesses in a defined area pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries. BIDs may go by other names, such as business improvement area, business revitalization zone, community improvement district, special services area, or special improvement district. BIDs provide services, such as cleaning streets, providing security, making capital improvements, and marketing the area. The services provided by BIDs are supplemental to those already provided by the municipality.

Contents 1 Development 2 Distribution 2.1 North America 2.2 United Kingdom 2.3 Germany 3 Evaluation 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Development

BIDs first emerged in Chinatown, Los Angeles, California in 1970. The first BID in the United States was in Chinatown Los Angeles California as Chinatown Red Patrol in 1970 ^[1] . Most BIDs in the United States have been created since 1990. BIDs have been established around the world, including in New Zealand, South Africa, Jamaica, Serbia, Albania,Germany South Africa,and the United Kingdom.

Legislation is necessary to permit local governments to create BIDs. The process for creating a BID varies from one jurisdiction to another, but generally three steps are involved. First, some number of businesses in the area petition the local government to create the BID. Second, the local government determines that a majority of businesses want the BID. Third, the local enacts legislation creating the BID.

In the United States, all property owners in the area pay the required tax or fee, even if they opposed the creation of the BID. Residences, non-profits, and governmental entities are usually exempt from making any contributions.

BIDs in England and Wales are funded by a levy on the occupiers rather than the owners of the properties within the area. If voted in by local businesses, the BID levy is an extension to existing non-domestic business-rates.

The operating budgets of BIDs range from a few thousand dollars to tens of millions of dollars.^[2]

A BID may be operated by a nonprofit organization or by a quasi-governmental entity. The governance of a BID is the responsibility of a board composed of some combination of property owners, businesses, and government officials. The management of a BID is the job of a paid administrator, usually called an executive director.

[edit] Distribution

[edit] North America

There are nearly 1,000 BIDs in the United States. New York City has 64 BIDs, the most of any city. BIDs exist in other major American cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

In Canada, Toronto has 65 BIAs within its city limit. Montreal has 14. In the province of Alberta, they are termed "business revitalization zones". There are nine zones in the city of Calgary and 10 in Edmonton.

[edit] United Kingdom

In England and Wales, BIDs were introduced through legislation (the Local Government Act 2003) and subsequent regulations in 2004. The Circle Initiative, a five-year scheme funded by the London Development Agency, set up the first pilot BIDs, five in London, all of which had successful ballots by March 2006. Association of Town Centre Management-coordinated pilot 'talking shops' in 22 locations in England and Wales corresponded with the development of BIDs' regulations. As of October 2007 there were 36 proposed or operational BIDs across Greater London

In March 2006, the Scottish Executive announced funding for six pilot BIDs in Scotland.

[edit] Germany

Six of the sixteen German Bundeslander (Federal States) introduced the requisite legal framework to create BIDs: Hamburg, Bremen, Hessen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. BID projects in implementation exist only in a few German cities, yet - e.g. in Flensburg, Hamburg and Giessen.

[edit] Evaluation

BIDs have received noteworthy criticism. For example, in Plymouth it has been claimed that vast amounts of taxpayers' money has been channelled into the promotion of the BID companies' directors business interests whilst their competitors has been left unsupported. Moreover, despite being forced to pay a BID levy, membership to the Plymouth City Centre Company requires the approval of its directors, who have been known to refuse membership due to an applicant having a business that might compete with their own. Critics argue that the BIDs provide services which should be provided by the government such as policing services. Critics also argue that there are services which should be paid for by the individual business owner such as sweeping/cleaning.^[3] Other critics believe that BIDs are too large and wield too much power and are taking away power from neighbourhood community organizations. In some neighbourhoods there are now umbrella groups made up of commercial landowners, property management firms, and condominium dwellers which aim to stop the BIDs.

BIDs have also become a powerful lobby group, lobbying government for improvements such as new sidewalks, trees, park benches and other restorations. BIDs can also lobby different levels of government for a complete facelift on their area if they feel its necessary to improve business.^[4] The Rideau Street BIA in Ottawa has lobbied the city for years to give the entire street a face-lift because of its "run down" look.

In addition, there has been some recent concern in social science literatures that critique aspects of the BID model.^[5] It is argued that the devolution of limited political authority to the private boards of these districts effectively privatizes the public spaces of the city. This privatization is potentially problematic given the important role that is played by public space in a democracy as a site of free speech, association and protest. There is concern that overt control of BIDs by business and property owners results in the privileging of the interests of those people over the democratic interests of society at large. There has also been substantial attention to the manner in which BIDs have often attempted to rid the spaces they control of the homeless, ethnic minorities, and political activists who might frighten off potential shoppers.

[edit] References

Blackwell M. 2005. A critical appraisal of the UK Government's proposals for Business Improvement Districts in England. Journal of Property Management, 23 (3).

Clough, N. and R. Vanderbeck. 2006. Managing Politics and Consumption in Business Improvement Districts: The Geographies of Political Activism on Burlington, Vermont's Church Street Marketplace. Urban Studies, 43 (12), 2261-2284.]

Cook, I. R. 2008. Mobilising Urban Policies: The Policy Transfer of US Business Improvement Districts to England and Wales. Urban Studies, 45 (4), 773-795]

Hoyt, L. and G. Devika. 2007. The Business Improvement District Model: A Balanced Review of Contemporary Debates, Geography Compass, 1 (4).

Kreutz, S. 2009. Urban Improvement Districts in Germany: New legal instruments for joint proprietor activities in area development. Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Vol.2,4, 304-317

Mitchell, J. 2008. Business Improvement Districts and the Shape of American Cities. Albany: SUNY Press.

Schaller, S. and G. Modan. 2005. Contesting Public Space and Citizenship: Implications for Neighborhood Business Improvement Districts. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 24 (4), 394-407.

Stokes, R. 2006. Business Improvement Districts and Inner City Revitalization: The Case of Philadelphia's Frankford Special Services District. International Journal of Public Administration, 29 (1 - 3), 173 - 186.

Ward, K. 2007. Business Improvement Districts: Policy Origins, Mobile Policies and Urban Liveability. Geography Compass, 1 (3).

[edit] External links

This article's external links may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. (May 2009)

• 'www.britishbids.info'- British BIDs - An integrated membership organisation that brings together BIDs and stakeholders to share in joint learning and inform future BIDs policy.
• 'www.londonbids.info'- London BIDs - The London BIDs BID Toolki, a step-by-step guide and downloadable tools for partnerships that are thinking about whether a BID is right way forward, or those that need support on specific aspects of BIDs..
• 'www.bids-scotland.com' - Business Improvement Districts Scotland
• www.urban-improvement-districts.de German research-website on Urban Improvement Districts, e.g. Business or Neighbourhood and Residential Improvement Districts with links to German and international projects, statutories and publications
• Why Business Improvement Districts Work - article by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (May 1996)
• Managing the Micropolis: Proposals to Strengthen BID Performance and Accountability - a 1997 report on the lack of accountability in some BIDs and recommendations for reform
• Business Improvement Districts and Innovative Service Delivery - a national survey of BIDs by Professor Jerry Mitchell
• UKBIDs - The Association of Town Centre Management's BIDs website