City leaders outline plan for a potential Business Improvement District in 2024
News about Rochester's potential Business Improvement District provided some clarity Tuesday morning.
At a city hall press conference, Mayor Malik Evans, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and leaders from downtown Rochester's business and nonprofit communities gathered with Galin Brooks, the executive director of the Partnership for Downtown Rochester, along with Joe Stefko, the board chair and president/CEO of ROC2025.
Together, the local leaders announced a preliminary district plan for a BID.
The partnership for downtown Rochester says that a Business Improvement District would support and enhance the area with new funding, deliver new programs and services, drive job creation and solidify downtown Rochester "as the region's historic and innovative center of bustling community activity... [where] active street life will make all feel welcome and safe."
"When I talk to Mayors in other cities, they say, 'you don't have a BID yet,'" Mayor Evans said at the press conference. “We are so close to the day when downtown becomes the bustling live-work-play community that it can be, and a BID can help us get there."
The mayor championed the idea of a potential BID, highlighting that Rochester stood as the sole city in Upstate New York without a Business Improvement District and one of the few cities of its size across the nation lacking such a district.
"This draft plan opens the door for conversation," Evans said. "The conversation is long overdue."
“Rochester is the heart of Monroe County, and downtown is the heart of Rochester," Monroe County Executive Adam Bello added. "Public input on the BID will help us create a downtown that’s not just a place on a map — but is a vibrant, thriving neighborhood where people, businesses, and special events want to be. This is what other cities have to make them successful. It's a win/win for everyone."
A grassroots campaign of small business owners, artists and city residents opposed to a potential BID says downtown is already a safe place they want to be. For months, the crusade has advocated that the plan is a cash grab by wealthy landowners and will segregate the city, forcing everyday people out of the proposed district.
"Everyone wants to see a better future for Rochester; we just have different ideas of how to get there," Kelly Cheatle, an active voice in the opposition movement, said at a community meeting earlier this fall.
At the same meeting, community advocate Abby Lupi said she was skeptical of what the actual BID plan would mean for Rochester because of a perceived lack of transparency.
"They have intentionally tried to make the messaging confusing," Lupi said.
The preliminary district plan for the Business Improvement District is open for public review and feedback until Dec. 31.
The public can access the draft and participate in the online survey at partnershipfordowntown.org or visit the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County for a hard copy. Community members can attend the open house and pop-up event on Dec. 13 at the Central Library.
What is a Business Improvement District?
Business Improvement Districts are divisions within existing local governments, established through a petition by neighboring commercial property owners or through local initiatives. Originating in the 1970s, BIDs gained substantial popularity in the 1990s to foster "urban revitalization" and address issues related to voluntary fundraising efforts by business associations.
In America, research and scholars have made the case that these BIDs often have not benefited regular people living downtown, have worsened racial justice issues and have allowed for increased policing with targeting of certain groups like the unhoused.
Cities have often leveraged tools like a BID in ways that tend to benefit the wealthy, business owners and well-heeled tourists, studies have shown.
Authorized by state legislative acts and operating under the approval of their governing city or county, BIDs have the authority to delineate their geographical boundaries while the local municipality imposes property taxes on residents. The generated revenue is then utilized to implement infrastructure enhancements, deliver additional municipal services and organize promotional events.
The leadership structures of improvement districts vary from state to state, but an appointed board oversees most. In some states, city council members or mayors directly appoint board members, while others mandate the city's selection of a non-profit corporation to manage the improvement district.
Timeline for Rochester's downtown BID
As outlined in the preliminary plan, the governance of the Downtown Rochester Business Improvement District will adhere to regulations specified in the Revised Code of the State of New York, specifically Chapter 24 Article 19-A, titled "Business Improvement Districts," Section 980 of the General Municipal Law. This legislation contains provisions that:
Allow BIDs to finance services ranging from maintenance to cleaning, marketing to parking management, and planning of special events.
Allow revenue for improvements and services to be raised from a special assessment based upon benefits received from improvements and services.
Requires petition support from 51% of property owners and 51% of assessed value to be paid.
According to PDR's initial draft plan, the City of Rochester would levy the special assessment by applying an assessment rate to each property owner. The total assessed value of the properties determines the assessment formula for the Downtown Rochester BID.
All uses will initially be assessed at ($0.25/100) x total assessed property value.
Residential properties with less than four units will not be assessed. Religious uses will not be assessed.
Governmental uses and universities will contribute an amount calculated at the identical rate as other properties, with the calculation being facilitated through an inter-agency agreement rather than through direct assessment.
If adopted, the BID assessment is mandatory for all ratepayers according to the BID ordinance.
Galin Brooks said the property owner's vote needed to establish a BID would be a 1:1 vote. "There needs to be a majority of property owners in the proposed area that sign off and support a business improvement district," Brooks said.
Setting up a BID includes several steps required by New York State law. The following is the timeline for the remaining steps necessary for the formation of a Downtown Rochester BID:
Petitioning for the BID - Winter 2024
Collected petitions delivered to the City of Rochester - Winter 2024
City council process (public hearings) - Spring & Summer2024
Final council approval and Mayor's signature - Summer 2024
Potential Downtown Rochester BID established - Fall 2024
How much will it cost?
According to the draft plan, the total funds needed for a potential BID in Downtown Rochester is $2,265,000.
The breakdown of that money is as follows:
Marketing, Events, and Activation: $380,000
Small business and livability: $320,000
Hospitality: $285,000
Maintenance and Beautification: $280,00
Management: $130,00
Social services supplement: $110,000
Program Total: $1,505,000
Services provided by the City of Rochester: $760,00
Grand Total: $2,265,000.
The proposed district map shows that the BID would extend north to the Inner Loop and Pleasant Street, south to Howell Street, west to Plymouth Avenue and east to Union Street.
Within that district, the proposed plan would include downtown hospitality ambassadors that PDR says will enrich the downtown experience by promoting its amenities and activities and fostering positive connections among residents, workers, visitors and convention attendees.
Those advocating for a BID say the ambassadors would not be a security team.
Nevertheless, community members opposed to the ambassadors point to other cities like St. Louis, where a Northwestern Law Review study says that many improvement districts nationwide now fund privatized neighborhood police patrols staffed by off-duty public police officers.
While local leaders believe a BID will enhance the downtown experience for everyone in Monroe County, others focus their criticism on arguing that residents should be receiving such services through general taxes they already pay.
"We need to funnel resources to the people already here doing the work," community advocate Abby Lupi said.
Seanelle Hawkins, president of the Urban League of Rochester, supports a Business Improvement District.
At the Tuesday press conference, she said her affection for downtown is rooted in its people but that "the broader community needed more to thrive" downtown.
Studies and reports of BIDs in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New Orleans have pointed to improvement districts aiding gentrification and causing racial disparities.
In a statement released Tuesday, City Council President Miguel A. Meléndez Jr. said: “The community must play a pivotal role in the revitalization of Downtown Rochester. For me, broad-based citizen engagement will be of the utmost importance.”
Fellow council member Stanley Martin said the biggest concern is "the removal of democratic say and putting that power in the hands of land owners."
Community members like Amanda Chestnut from Roc Arts United fear a BID is a 21st-century redlining.
"I will be damned if I see another generation struggle financially because of BID."
Contact Robert Bell at: rlbell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @byrobbell & Instagram: @byrobbell. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Plans for Business Improvement District in Rochester NY revealed
