DISTRICT—Delays Frustrate BID Advocates in North Hollywood

Merchants are blaming city council shifts and funding delays at City Hall for a proposed business improvement district in North Hollywood that is a year behind schedule. The business district, originally expected to be up and running last January, may not see the light of day until December or January 2002 at the earliest, said Ken Banks, executive director of the North Hollywood Community Forum, a group that procures grants and administers those funds for community projects. “Things just got bogged down after (Los Angeles City Council President John) Ferraro died and then (Councilman Joel) Wachs left, so there was a void where nothing was being done,” Banks said. Ferraro died last April and Wachs announced in May that he would be moving to New York to work for a non-profit organization. A replacement for Ferraro has not been elected and, while Wachs has not yet resigned his office, he has spent much of his time recently preparing for his move. “We didn’t anticipate it would be this slow,” said Banks, who is coordinating development of the district. Joe Hooven, president of the Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said business owners have grown weary and skeptical of the process. “People here are basically tired of waiting,” Hooven said. “They want some action and nothing is happening.” Brian Sheehan, owner of the Eclectic Caf & #233; on Lankershim Boulevard, said he doesn’t know when the district will become a reality. “After the MTA finished (subway construction), the big boom for business never happened. We need something to get things started,” he said. Banks said he at one time believed the business improvement district would be up and running this month, but because district organizers have had little or no response to requests from what is left of the offices of Wachs and Ferraro, little progress has been made in recent months. Dale Thrush, Wachs’ planning deputy, denied there had been any delays and said efforts to establish the district are progressing well. “The startup money was allocated in early June and they are proceeding accordingly,” Thrush said. “Everyone wants things done quickly, but it takes to time to draft motions, have them go through committee and then go back to council.” While the city council may have authorized $500,000 in startup funding for the North Hollywood business district, organizers have yet to see a cent of it. A city council vote was first scheduled on the North Hollywood district in March 2000. However, it wasn’t until eight months later, in October, that the council actually approved $2 million for the project. An initial $500,000 was to be released once the city signed a contract with the North Hollywood Community Forum to manage the district. After details of the contract were worked out in January, Banks asked Wachs’ office to write a motion asking the council to approve it and release the money. The motion to authorize the funding was drafted in April and got council approval in June. However, the money cannot be released and the district cannot begin work until the council also approves the contract with the North Hollywood Community Forum, an item that has yet to be placed on a city council agenda. Susan Levi, executive director of the Sherman Oaks Business Improvement District, said delays in establishing districts are common. “We were able to get started six months after we submitted our proposal, so it’s a matter of how much help a council office is and how well organized the BID proponents are,” she said. “There are some BIDs that took three years. You just never know when you’re dealing with City Hall.” According to the city process, those who want to create a BID must first get city council approval and then the approval of those business owners that would be affected. Banks said business owners in the area are expected to vote sometime this fall. Funding, all of which must still be distributed, would come from state transportation and beautification funds approved by voters in the mid-1990s. The new district would encompass a mile-long segment of Lankershim Boulevard between the Ventura Freeway and Burbank Boulevard, three-fourths of it in Ferraro’s former district and the northern portion in Wachs’. The business improvement district would charge each property owner a fee for membership, thus pooling resources to pay for services to help local businesses. Similar business districts fund sidewalk maintenance, landscaping improvements, additional parking and special events to attract shoppers. Merchants would also be eligible to receive funding for facade improvements or, in some cases, interior remodeling. Banks says that until the contract and a spending plan by his office are approved, the district remains in limbo. Thrush said the proposed district is in response to concerns by local merchants about the impact of a three-year subway construction project that closed sidewalks and traffic lanes, driving many customers away from local shops. Merchants say that, if the area is marketed properly, the nearby Red Line station would make it an ideal place for commuters to eat and shop. “Our next step is to do the study where we’ll determine the assessments and how much money we’ll need,” Banks said. In nearby Studio City, for instance, a business improvement district charges property owners about $1,200 a year, on a sliding scale based on building size. Since an initial feasibility study has not yet been done, it is impossible to predict what kind of fees a North Hollywood district would involve. If and when city council approval is obtained, property owners within the district would elect a board of directors, officially signaling its legitimacy. “There are a lot of things that we still have to hash out, like what promotions we’ll do first, but we want to start with an advertising campaign promoting the district,” he said. Levi said marketing must be a focus of the new district. “They have to show the community that they have a lot of things to offer,” she said. Thrush, who helped Wachs with the project from its inception, said business districts all over Los Angeles are subject to criticism.