Item 26 - Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District 2023 Assessment

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Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District 2023 Assessment Report and Budget to Levy an Annual Business License Tax Assessment November 15, 2022 Page 2 3 0 5 5 Discussion On February 6, 1984, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. NS -1715 pursuant to state law, creating a Business Improvement District (BID) in Downtown Santa Ana. The BID functions similar to other business improvement districts, which is to provide an increase in services such as security, maintenance, marketing, and capital improvements that can enhance economic activity within a business area. The BID has created opportunities for the downtown business community to promote events, create promotional materials, increase the security presence, enhance maintenance of common areas, and implement streetscape improvements in Downtown Santa Ana. The BID is funded through an additional charge on the business license tax for those businesses within the BID boundary (Exhibit 2). The 2023 Assessment Report contains the basis and method of levying the assessment, estimated activities, and budgets from the two business associations—the Santa Ana Business Council and Downtown Inc.— and a map of the BID boundaries (Exhibit 1A). The Assessment Report presented for consideration and recommended for approval has been reviewed and was determined to meet state law requirements. If the City Council approves the report, the next course of action is to conduct a public hearing where downtown merchants can vote in favor or against the BID renewal. The Public Hearing is scheduled for December 6, 2022. If the BID is successfully renewed, each organization will receive approximately $100,000 (collected from the business license tax fee) per calendar year (January through December) and may carry over unspent funds into the next year. Downtown Inc. and the Santa Ana Business Council, have reported that they have hosted successful events such as Savor Santa Ana, which included over 40 participating restaurants and over 2,000 attendees. The organizations also contributed $20,000 to a dozen event producers to bring events to the downtown and $10,000 in micro-grants for pop-up businesses and small events throughout the year. Both organizations continue to increase their social media presences and have over 50,000 followers. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT There is no environmental impact associated with this action. FISCAL IMPACT There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this action. The City collects the BID revenue from businesses within the BID boundary and distributes funding to each organization, in accordance with approved operating agreements. Revenues will be deposited equally in the BID Trust and Agency Fund and distributions to each organization will be made from the same accounts as detailed in the following table: