City/Business Improvement District Council Partnerships
(Micro Business Districts and Citywide Urban Main Street Program)
In addition to partnering with the City's Office of Small
Business to assist in the ongoing development of the City's
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), the Business Improvement
District (BID) Council also contracts with the City to help coordinate
other business development programs, such as Micro Business
Districts and a Citywide Urban Main Street Program.
The BID Council, a non-profit organization primarily funded by
nearly $780,000 in City of San Diego Small Business Enhancement
Program funds, is an association of the BIDs in San Diego. The
Council's primary charge is to disseminate information, resources
and expertise to its member districts, to assist them in development
and to support them in improving their physical, social and economic
environments.
Micro Business Districts provide organized and targeted assistance
in areas such as business development and retention, marketing,
organization, funding, and special events. Micro Business
Districts are designed to serve San Diego business districts which
have an insufficient number of businesses to form Business
Improvement Districts (BIDs).
The City's Office of Small Business is working with the Council, businesses,
community and planning groups, as well as residents in smaller commercial neighborhood
areas to help organize and strengthen business communities by
creating Micro Business Districts. Many smaller business areas
are not as organized, and therefore are not able to take advantage
of joint efforts to improve their district by pooling resources and
getting involved in collaborative revitalization projects.
Micro Business Districts are purely on a voluntary basis and
do not require a vote from the business community. Proposed fees
vary for each district and they are purely voluntary. Micro
Business Districts are in the formative stages and most districts
are working with individual businesses to establish the fee
structure they may or may not want to pay in order to support
collaborative business development efforts. Following are some
examples of small business districts that have been given Micro
Business District status and support.
- Golden Hill
- Linda Vista
- Bird Rock
The first citywide Main Street Program on the West Coast, San
Diego Urban Main Street Program is affiliated with a
nationally-recognized economic development approach that focuses
on enhancing and highlighting the unique character of downtowns
and individual neighborhood business districts in an effort to
promote small business development. These efforts provide small
businesses with a competitive edge so they can survive and
flourish in an era of "big box" retailers and shopping malls.
Three San Diego communities, North Park, Mission Hills and Ocean
Beach, are designated as "Main Street" districts in the City.
Although it's the nation's sixth largest city, San Diego maintains
the feel of a smaller community with individual "Main Streets"
within the City's neighborhoods. To maintain and improve those
"Main Streets" (found in the City's 18 Business Improvement Districts),
the City brought this nationally-recognized program
to San Diego. Main Street designation provides respective business
organizations with a strong foundation for organizational
effectiveness, allowing these organizations to set strategic
goals and work towards revitalization. With the designation comes
additional guidance from the Office of Small Business, technical
assistance grant funds from the City and access to expertise from
the state and national Main Street programs.
North Park, first selected by the City to receive the Main
Street program as a pilot project in 1996, is already showing
signs of renewal. North Park businesses and residents have worked
closely with the City to renovate storefronts, plan and coordinate
major streetscape improvement and public art projects, create a
redevelopment area to attract investors, and market the district
to customers and attract new businesses. This effort represents
an investment of millions of dollars by the City and strong
commitment by businesses and residents. Main Street efforts are
also beginning to unfold in Ocean Beach and Mission Hills, adding
to existing revitalization efforts in those districts.
Rather than resorting to quick-fix strategies, (a trademark of
revitalization efforts years ago) the Main Street program
incorporates a comprehensive, four point approach that includes:
- building partnerships between merchants, government and community representatives and the private sector;
- developing marketing strategies to draw customers and attract new businesses;
- restoring historic buildings, focusing on good design and capitalizing on unique themes; and
- strengthening the district's economic base and creating market niches.
For more information on the city of Micro Business Districts or
the Citywide Urban Main Street Program, contact the
Business Improvement District Council at (619) 239-2437.
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