LAPD’s ‘What If’ on BID Troubles
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials aren’t choosing sides, but they are hoping that a full roster of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) will continue to provide security and maintenance teams to supplement city services in the Downtown area.
LAPD’s wishes are not a foregone conclusion as the economy tightens and internal dissent threatens the operations of at least one of the private organizations.
A letter signed recently by LAPD Chief William Bratton and Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz, who oversees the agency’s Central Area, offered no preference on which of two competing groups might in the future oversee such private services in areas currently covered by the Fashion District BID, which is facing a tough fight on its proposed five-year renewal.
The message did, however, offer a clear indication that gaps left behind by a lack of any BID would likely go unfilled.
“As much as we wish the city could provide all the safety and street services the area requires, I am afraid that this is just not possible given current resources,” according to the letter, written to John Van der Aker, who serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Fashion District BID.
“We have no doubt that [the presence of BID security guards] has been a great contributor to the reduction in crime in the area over the last few years,” the letter continued. “Likewise, the crews responsible for maintaining the appearance of public areas in the district are a great crime-fighting tool. We have ample experience that when an area looks well-maintained and cared for, people feel safer and criminals are less like to commit crimes there. That is the heart of the oft-cited ‘Broken Windows Theory.’”
Most BIDs are funded by property owners who pay an extra tax to pay for security and maintenance crews, as well as marketing campaigns and other programs. A BID must gain the approval of more than 50% of property owners in its given area in a vote that is weighted by real estate holdings. City officials also must approve any BID.
There are nine BIDs currently operating Downtown and in adjacent districts, a patchwork of efforts that covers a majority of the territory in the city’s center. The groups have won plaudits from some segments of the community and criticism from others, including a number of groups and individuals who question whether private security guards should carry any authority onto public streets.
In any, case, the lineup of BIDs could soon change because of the ongoing standoff in the Fashion District. The Fashion District BID—which has been in operation for 10 years, covers 90 blocks on Downtown’s southeastern flank, and has an annual budget of more than $3 million—faces stiff opposition from a number of property owners in the area. Some of the opponents of a five-year renewal of the Fashion District BID have taken steps toward forming their own organization, which would be smaller and called the Garment District BID The standoff could lead to neither organization gaining the right to operate after the Fashion District BID’s current term expires at the end of this year.
The two groups aim to cover areas with overlapping boundaries, which is not allowed under current law. If the standoff continues, the entire area would be left without the current complement of security guards that patrol private and public sections of the area. Also gone would be the long-established Fashion District BID maintenance crews whose members currently collect an estimated six tons of trash from the streets of the area each day.
Various sources around Downtown have said that representatives of LAPD, other city agencies, and some members of the business community at large have grown increasingly worried about the prospect of BIDs disappearing from the Fashion District and other areas of the city’s center. The tough economy has some property owners in various sections of Downtown giving second thoughts to the additional taxes that support the organizations, sources have said, and several of the organizations have naturally fractious memberships with differing views on priorities for spending and operations.
At least one other BID in the area is said to be facing genuine questions about its future, and the battle in the Fashion District could be a test case as more come up for renewals in coming months and years.
The clock is ticking in the Fashion District, too, with one significant deadline for an approval of a renewal of the current BID already passed. That could make it difficult to fund the organization in the first months of next year even if the standoff is settled.
Fashion District BID executive director Kent Smith said the organization recently submitted a new “leaner and meaner” management plan to go with its application for renewal.
Smith declined comment on the chances of his organization gaining an approval, but he acknowledged the deep-seated nature of the standoff and the concern of city officials by expressing thanks for the latest attempt to reach an agreement.
“Mayor [Antonio] Villaraigosa has brought his good office into the talks, and we’re hopeful that will help find a solution,” Smith said.
