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SANTA ANA'S PROPERTY BASED IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT without the city's vote; (3) to add a process for disestablishment. All three motions died for a lack of votes. Fiesta Marketplace Partners owns 145,000 square feet of retail and office buildings, with approximately 45 tenants in downtown Santa Ana. When first developed in the late 1980s, Fiesta Marketplace was specifically oriented to Hispanic shoppers. Most recently, the area has been renamed East End. The 66-block special assessment district includes 312 property owners and approximately 800 businesses. Property owners have been ordered to pay assessment fees for extra security, marketing and promotional events in the immediate area. A considerable portion of these expenses are related to the "newer" businesses such as restaurants and nightclubs. The developer in this matter has indicated publically that his relationship with the City of Santa Ana was, in many instances, "informal." He further indicated that this was possible because "city staff had a rough idea of whether the City Council would back their plans." "That's the kind of relationship I had with them. They said something, they did it. I said something, I did it." However, he also stated that after the allegations of "gentrification" were made, the "political atmosphere started to turn sour, and city staff became less confident in making agreements." "It was as if one day you could trust what staff was saying, then the next day they were scared and couldn't commit to anything."3 In regard to many of the smaller shopkeepers the developer stated: "They're in business because I'm propping them up. But I can't do that forever. Some of them are going to make it because they are going to change, and others are just going to keep doing things the way they've always done, and they will fail. A "In order for the retailer to adapt, they're going to have to figure out what to sell and how they're going to sell it," he said. There is significant opposition to the PBID, the procedures used in its formation, and to how Downtown Inc. is managing the proceeds, from many area business owners. Many comments were made in local newspapers and neighborhood publications. One shop keeper said some of the changes taking place are hurrying the trend of Spanish- speaking customers seeking other places to shop. "This plan should have, from the beginning, been inclusive and gotten all the merchants together so they're not forcing anyone out but that didn't happen," he said. The comments from that merchant reflected the attitude of many others. "What are we paying for? They don't do anything for us. They only care about nightlife and bringing in the wealthy, but those people aren't going to help my business." There have been additional allegations that the proceeds from the assessments rom "struggling property owners" are being utilized for the 3 Voice of OC, July 22, 2011 ° NY Times article October 30, 2011 2011-2012 ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY Page 216