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December 2018
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Steven Welliver
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
 
President-Elect
Andrew Thomas
Westwood Village Improvement Association
 
Vice President
Steve Snider
Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt-Uptown District Associations
 
Secretary
Chip
Downtown Association of Santa Cruz
 
Treasurer
Blage Zelalich
City of San Jose
 
At-Large Directors
Emilie Cameron 
Downtown Sacramento Partnership

Maggie Campbell
MIG, Inc.

Suzanne Holley
Downtown Center BID

Austin Metoyer
Downtown Long Beach Alliance
 
Steve Mulheim
Old Pasadena Management District
 
Liz Studebaker
City of San Diego
 
Immediate Past President
Karin Flood
Union Square BID
CDA MEMBERS
Arlington Business Partnership
Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association
BLVD Association
Carmichael Improvement District, Inc.
Central City Association
City of Glendora
City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk
City of Monterey Park
City of Ontario
City of San Diego - Economic Development Dept.
City of San Jose - Office of Econ Dev
Civitas
County of Santa Cruz - Office of Economic Development
Dinuba Chamber of Commerce
Downtown Association of Santa Cruz
Downtown Berkeley Association
Downtown Long Beach Alliance
Downtown Modesto Partnership
Downtown Oakland Association/ Lake Merritt Uptown District Association
Downtown Oxnard Merchants Association
Downtown Pomona Owners Association
Downtown Roseville Partnership
Downtown Sacramento Partnership
Downtown San Diego Partnership
Downtown Santa Barbara, Inc.
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
Downtown Vacaville BID
Downtown Ventura Partners
Downtown Visalians, Inc.
Figueroa Corridor Partnership
Gateway to LA Airport Business District
Genetec
Gilroy Economic Development
Greater Broadway District
Hollywood Property Owners Alliance
Ironsmith, Inc.
Kono CBD
LA Downtown Industrial District BID
LA Fashion District BID
MJM Management Group
North Park Main Street
North Tahoe Business Association
Old Pasadena Management District 
ParkSmart, Inc.
Paso Robles Main Street Association
Playhouse District Association
Progressive Urban Management Associates, Inc.
R Street Sacramento Partnership
Riverside Downtown Partnership
San Jose Downtown Association
San Luis Obispo Downtown Association
South Park BID
Sunnyvale Downtown
Telegraph BID
Temescal Telegraph BID
The River District
Tracy City Center Association
Tulare Downtown Association
Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association
Westwood Village Improvement Association 
Wilshire Center Business Improvement District


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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Looking Back

The year has been a busy one, and the California Downtown Association has been front and center representing the interests of our members across the state. As we pause to enjoy holiday festivities and strategize for the year ahead, here’s a look back at a few major initiatives from the year. 

— CDA successfully partnered with a coalition of organizations from many other industries to kill the Tax Fairness, Transparency and Accountability Act. The ballot initiative would have had many unintended consequences for our members, including in some cases a mandatory annual vote to renew district funding.

— Election season was a trying time, but results were favorable on every initiative CDA took a position on. Propositions 1 & 2 will provide desperately needed funding for affordable housing and supportive mental health services. Proposition 10, which would have allowed local municipalities to expand rent control, was soundly defeated.

— CDA was vocal in its opposition to SB 946, a bill to broadly expand the ability of street vendors to vend from the sidewalks of our communities. Though the bill passed and will be in effect in January, discussions have already begun about clean-up legislation in 2019. 

It’s been my pleasure to work with each of you this year. On behalf of the Board of Directors of CDA, we wish you happy holidays and a fantastic start to the new year. 


Steven Welliver, CDA President
Deputy Chief Executive
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
Andrew Thomas VP
Looking Ahead

When I ask fellow downtown practitioners what they enjoy most about our profession, I frequently hear about the adventure of not knowing what each day may bring. These challenges require us to be informed, progressive and nimble - qualities that I believe enable us to be successful in leading our respective communities. 

CDA also possesses these attributes and they will continue to guide our organization as we advocate for legislation that will strengthen our districts in 2019. We expect this upcoming year to be full of unique challenges and opportunities. CDA will be prepared to address them while representing the interests of our membership.

CDA also plans to host a terrific conference at our West Coast Urban District Forum in Los Angeles, March 19 - 21, 2019. We thank our tremendous partners at the LA Fashion District Business Improvement District and the International Downtown Association for their support in bringing this event to downtown Los Angeles. 

On behalf of the CDA Board of Directors, have a fantastic holiday season, and I look forward to connecting with you in the new year.

Andrew Thomas, CDA President-Elect
Executive Director
Westwood Village Improvement Association
WEST COAST URBAN DISTRICT FORUM
Join the LA Fashion District, California Downtown Association and IDA for the 2019 West Coast Urban District Forum March 19-21, 2019 . Master talks and breakout sessions will explore how downtowns serve as economic development resources beyond city boundaries, and how social equity plays an important role in the work that we do. Experts will share best practices on enhancing downtown quality of life and cultivating the next generation of leaders.

The LA Fashion District in downtown Los Angeles covers 100-blocks is a culturally, socially and economically diverse community with rich heritage in the fashion industry - a district that is evolving into a future to include residential and creative opportunities while maintaining its roots in fashion. See you in Los Angeles!
CDA POLICY CORNER
A Strong Year for CDA’s Government Affairs Program – Organization Positioned to Engage on Affordable Housing, Homelessness & Public Space Management Issues in 2019 

The leadership of the California Downtown Association was heavily engaged in a number of critical policy areas as 2018 was another strong year for the Association’s advocacy efforts. Focusing in on the organization’s three top priorities a. housing, b. public space management and c. BID operational efficiency, CDA saw significant legislative activity in 2018. With heightened interest in tackling the lack of affordable housing and providing solutions to address homelessness, 2019 will open up new opportunities for CDA to engage the Legislature and newly-elected Governor.  

Affordable Housing / Homelessness 
CDA support two major statewide ballot measures and played an important role in the campaign to support Propositions 1 & 2 on the November ballot. Prop. 1 authorizes $4 billion in bonds to build and provide affordable housing for veterans, working families, people with disabilities. Prop. 2 will build supportive housing for people living with a serious mental illness who are homeless or at great risk of becoming homeless and providing intensive coordinated care including mental health and addiction services, medical treatment, case management, education and job training.

While these two ballot measures will make an important impact on housing and homeless services, we know more needs to be done. The Legislature and Governor-elect have prioritized these issues for 2019 and we have already seen a number of important bills introduced that seek to provide additional ongoing resources to assist with new housing opportunities and supportive services to those who are in need. There are a number of bills in this area, the following are the highlights: 
SB 5 (Beall, D-San Jose & McGuire, D-Santa Rosa)
Sets aside $200 million in property tax dollars for low-income housing. This bill will be part of a series of housing bills the two Senators will introduce this year that will streamline permitting, increasing density without a one-size-fits-all approach, as well as updating surplus property identification. 

AB 11 (Chiu, D-San Francisco)
Reinstitutes a “redevelopment-like” system allowing cities/counties to keep property tax dollars in certain areas to fund economic development and affordable housing. The bill requires 30% of that money to be used for low-income housing.  

SB 50 (Wiener, D-San Francisco) 
Would prevent cities from blocking new housing units within a half-mile of transit or job centers. Similar provisions as 2018’s SB 827, except this year’s bill exempts communities that already created a transit-oriented development plan which will remove opposition of some cities who were opposed to SB 827 like the City of LA. Organized construction labor is now supportive of SB 50 because of the labor standards imbedded in the bill – they had opposed SB 827.  

Public Space Management 
CDA took an active role and ultimately opposed SB 946 (Lara, D-Long Beach) which restricts a local jurisdiction’s ability to regulate time, place, manner, and number of permitted sidewalk vendors to directly related objective health, safety, and welfare concerns. Although CDA maintained an “oppose” position on SB 946, advocacy efforts were critical in securing amendments to the bill that allow a city to prohibit sidewalk vendors in areas located within the vicinity of a permitted certified farmers’ market or area designated for a temporary special permit. The amendments add higher fines for vending without the appropriate permit and requires sidewalk vendors to hold business licenses, maintain health and safety policies and pay all state and local taxes under the law.  

CDA believes additional work is needed to ensure local governments have the tools to authorize sidewalk vending and appropriately limit where that activity can occur. It is not uncommon for jurisdictions to regulate commercial activity based on factors other than health, safety, and welfare concerns, as many jurisdictions designate areas of a community for specific uses including medical facilities, office buildings, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Under SB 946, sidewalk vendors would be regulated differently than other entrepreneurs. We know there is interest in pursuing “clean-up legislation” in 2019 to address some of the concerns that CDA and others expressed during discussions around SB 946.  We anticipate legislation to be introduced next year and CDA will look to play an active role in those discussions next year.   

Public Safety and Serial Theft 
CDA played an active role in SB 916 (Wiener) – a bill that would help to protect visitors and tourists from vehicle break-ins and ensure positive experience for those visiting downtowns within California. In an effort to reduce burglary rates, this bill sought to reform burglary of a vehicle by expanding the definition to include entering a vehicle by forced entry. Currently, prosecutors must prove a car door was physically locked as part of an auto break-in. This evidence is especially needed in cases where the victim is unavailable or unknown which is prevalent amongst victims who are tourists since they are unable to return to the jurisdiction where the crime was committed to verify the crime occurred. 

Although the bill was not passed in 2018, Senator Wiener has introduced SB 23 which would trigger stronger sentencing for criminals who enter a vehicle with the intent to commit a theft.  CDA will continue to engage on this important public safety issue for our downtowns. 

Jason Bryant 
Bryant Government Affairs
December 2018 Legislative Update 
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CDA District Digest Copyright 2018
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