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Business Associations and BID’s can be found in all three case study cities. The City of San
Diego even asserts that it is home of the first BID nationwide.5 Moreover, the City of San
Diego is special about BID’s concerning its BID Council which was established in 1993 in
order to provide an umbrella organization to disseminate information, resources, assistance
and expertise to its 19 member BID’s and to foster networking efforts. Eric Symons, Senior
Public Information Officer of the Economic Development and Community Services
Department of the City of San Diego, stated in an interview that:
“BID’s are most definitely a public-private partnership in the City of San Diego.”6
The city collects the assessment and then reimburses it to the district for expenses that follow
the guidelines of the respective district’s work plan. More specifically, the Office of Small
Business (part of San Diego’s Economic Development and Community Services Department)
administers the BID program and oversees the assessments. There are guidelines for the use
of these funds. The BID proposes how specifically the money will be used and the City
Council approves those budgets. The city’s investment in BID’s is completely separate from
these assessments. In addition to these funds, the city provides matching grant funding to each
of the 19 BID’s to ensure that each BID can afford to hire office staff to work with the
volunteer boards that direct each BID. Symons stressed:
“The city funding doesn’t stop there. We also provide CDBG funding for a variety of activities, including
physical improvements such as streetscape, lighting and landscaping. Transient Occupancy Tax revenue [TOT]
is also available through a competitive application process. This funding helps promote special events and funds
business development and retention efforts in many of the districts. On average, the City invests $ 4 to $ 6
million each year in the BID’s, which has helped to leverage another several million from BID assessments and
other fundraising activities within BID’s.”7
Though funding is subject to BID board decisions, grant funding form the city such as TOT,
Small Business Enhancement Program or CDBG will be oversight by the city. Specific
requirements are attached by the city and therefore, organizing, planning and carrying out a
project is being done together. The best example in San Diego is the neighborhood
revitalization program. Here, street, lighting and landscaping improvements are carried out in
joint efforts. Many districts set up a landscape maintenance districts (LMD) to help pay for
ongoing maintenance of these improvements, as the city does not have the ongoing funding.
Thus, the city pay for construction and the BID’s pay to maintain the improvements. In this
way, BID's are a perfect example of pubic-private sectors cooperation in urban development.
Consequently, public-private partnerships in the context of the BID programs is not all about
funding. Symons stated:
“City staff as well as our elected officials and their staff work closely with BID’s and the BID Council to
formulate policies, guide improvement planning and projects, and tie together a multitude of other city services
and programs that, together, benefit BID’s. One of the city’s primary goals is to revitalize older neighborhoods
and commercial districts throughout the city. BID’s provide another tool to help us work with the community to
achieve this long-term goal.”8
Consequently, a BID partnership serves mutual goals. The public sector provides
administrative and financial support for BID’s, and BID’s, in return, help cities to achieve
public goals by revitalizing neighborhoods. According to Symons the North Park Streetscape
Improvement Project , recently completed by the City of San Diego and the North Park Main
5 compare: www.bidcouncil.org
6 Interview with Eric Symons on the 29th of November 2000
7 Interview with Eric Symons on the 29th of November 2000
8 Interview with Eric Symons on the 29th of November 2000