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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
Dominic Tartaglia
San Luis Obispo Downtown Association
 
Treasurer
Blage Zelalich
City of San Jose
 
At-Large Directors
Chip 
Downtown Association of Santa Cruz

Emilie Cameron 
Downtown Sacramento Partnership

Maggie Campbell
Downtown Santa Barbara, Inc.
 
Joseph Mariani
Hollywood Entertainment District 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

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Have a news story or a project you'd like to highlight in the CDA  District Digest?
 

CDA Members
Arlington Business Partnership
Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association
Central City Association
Chrysalis
City of Citrus  Heights 
City of Dana Point
City of Folsom
City of Glendora
City of Lancaster
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 Temple City
City of Tracy
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 Los Angeles
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 San Mateo Association
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
Gilroy Economic Development
Hollywood Property Owners Alliance
Ironsmith, Inc.
LA Downtown Industrial District BID
LA Fashion District BID
MJM Management Group
North Tahoe Business Association
Old Pasadena Management District 
ParkSmart, Inc.
Paso Robles Main Street 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
The Downtown Burbank Partnership
The Placemaking Group
The River District
Tracy City Center Association
Tulare Downtown Association
Ukiah Main Street Program
Union Square BID
Urban Place Consulting Group, Inc.
Vista Village Business Association
Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association
Westwood Village Improvement Association  
Wilshire Center Business Improvement District
February 2018
PRESIDENT'S POLL
Just a few weeks to go until the West Coast Urban District Forum in Walnut Creek! How many team members from your organization will be joining in on the fun? 

 

The votes from January's poll are in!  What are you most looking forward to at CDA's annual conference?  

Get social! What questions will you come ready to ask? Share them on Twitter using #WCUDF18.

 
Steven Welliver
Deputy Chief Executive 
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.

MEMBER Q & A
The Downtown Association of Santa Cruz will host the Downtown Santa Cruz Pre-Am Mini Golf / Art Festival from Friday, February 23 through Sunday, February 25. The association invites attendees to "putter around" downtown on a miniature golf course with each hole designed by a local artist, engineer, architect or community group. We asked Executive Director Chip to tell us more.


Steven: What was the inspiration behind a pop-up, art driven miniature golf course?

Chip: There were a lot of different factors that inspired the event. We have a very rich creative community and we were excited to see what different artists, engineers, architects and others would do with the challenge of creating a temporary installation that functioned as a mini golf hole. It also checks all of the boxes for us, in terms of our goals as an organization: It's family friendly, which is a big focus for us right now. It drives traffic, not only to Downtown, but into stores, where the holes are located and gives us an opportunity to showcase some of the new stores in the district. It also works out that February is a slower retail time, so the stores are able to afford the space, 

Steven: How will the golf tournament differ from past Downtown Santa Cruz events?

Chip: We made a decision a few years ago, based on feedback from our members move away from big footprint events that close streets and alter normal traffic. We have had a bit of success with our First Friday Art Tour and Wine Walk events and others that bring people into stores. This expands that format over a weekend. We also have ended up doing a lot of wine and now beer events, which is great from a revenue perspective, but excludes the under 21 crowd, which is of course an important demographic for Downtown. 

Steven: How will you judge whether the event was successful?

Chip: That is a really good question. I have made an effort with this to talk about this year as a sort of prototype for what the event could be in future years. In other words, there is a lot of trying to explain the concept and the details and convince people to get on board - artists, host locations, participants everyone. I actually only was able to convince 8 designers to take this on this year, which means that I'm the 9th. But the interest for next year is very high. In short, the event will be successful in my mind if we get some good pictures and generate enough of a buzz to build on it next year. I imagine the hole designers will want to out do themselves, and the audience will grow. I think my Board will only really consider it successful if Bill Murray or Steph Curry come golf in Santa Cruz. I'm working on both fronts. 

WEST COAST URBAN DISTRICT FORUM
Join Walnut Creek Downtown, California Downtown Association and IDA for the  West Coast Urban District Forum  March 13-15, 2018!  Experts will share best practices on enhancing downtown quality of life and cultivating the next generation of leaders. 

Book Your Hotel Room! 

The Walnut Creek Marriott, located at 2355 North Main Street, is offering a rate of $179/night for a standard room.Parking is available onsite during the day for $10 and $23 overnight. Rooms are also available at the Renaissance ClubSport Walnut Creek Hotel, located at 2805 Jones Road, for a rate of $189/night for a standard room. 

Please book your room by this Friday, February 23, 2018 at either hotel. More booking information is on our  website


The regular  registration  deadline is Thursday, March 8.  Secure the rate of $395 before the on-site price increase. Visit the event  website  for more information and to register today.


2018 Master Talks 

Legislative Update
Jason Bryant, CDA's Legislative Advocate, Bryant Government Affairs 

No One Has a Right to Die on our Streets: Can our Mental Health System be Fixed?

Kerry Morrison, Executive Director, Hollywood Property Owners Alliance

Cities Can't do it Alone - How do We Tackle Homelessness at the Regional Level?
Tomiquia Moss, CEO, Hamilton Families

Leadership is an Art
Dr. Steven Goodwin, TurningWest


Breakout Sessions Announced!

Join us in exploring topics such as Incubators - A Shot in the Arm for your District, Demographic Inversion and Ethnic Sub-Markets,  Internet VS IRL and the Power of FOMO... and more!  View the preliminary program online now. 


Pre-conference Tour Added! 

Policies and Partnerships: Fostering Growth and Harnessing Potential in Walnut Creek Walking Tour 

Tuesday, March 13th
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $25

Join City staff on a walking tour of downtown Walnut Creek where guiding policies and successful partnerships have created opportunities, attracted investment to promote Walnut Creek as a regional leader with a strong local economy, and generated a wealth of community investment.


Get social! What questions will you come ready to ask? Share them on  Twitter  using  #WCUDF18 .

CDA POLICY CORNER
Bill Introduction Deadline Passes - CDA Reviewing Hundreds of Legislative Proposals

Last Friday was the legislative deadline to introduce all bills for the year and accordingly, approximately 2,000 new measures have been introduced since January. CDA staff is reviewing each bill and doing an analysis on all relevant legislation that would impact our membership. Along with the roughly 2,000 new bills there are about 500 bills that are left over from last year's legislative session that are making their way through the process.

CDA's Legislative Committee and Board will now begin the process of considering relevant legislation and potentially taking a formal position on important bills. A bill of particular interest is SB 946 by Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Long Beach). The bill would prohibit a city/county from banning sidewalk vendors unless that jurisdiction had an existing sidewalk vending licensing program allowing for food or merchandise sales. Furthermore, the city/county could not restrict the location of the licensed vendor unless the vending activity directly impacted health, safety or welfare. The bill also makes violations of a vending ordinance punishable by an administrative fine program instead of a misdemeanor.

The bill's supporters argue the criminalization of vending has impacted immigrant communities where penalties and jail time can be imposed and criminal prosecution can have severe consequences for undocumented immigrant vendors. It's possible any conviction could increase an undocumented resident's priority for deportation under Federal Homeland Security enforcement programs.

According to the author, the problem lies when a city/county prohibits all sidewalk vending or places onerous restrictions on vendors which relegate vendors to the underground economy. Without the proper authorization, a vendor is subject to enforcement and or prosecution. The criminalization of vending has impacted immigrant communities where penalties and jail time can be imposed and criminal prosecution can also have severe consequences for undocumented immigrant vendors. Any conviction could increase an undocumented resident's priority for deportation under Federal Homeland Security enforcement programs.

While we are sensitive to these issues and understand the objectives of the bill, CDA is concerned that local jurisdictions authority to properly regulate and enforce an ordinance on street vendors will be significantly diminished. If a city/county had an existing ordinance, SB 946 could limit the "time, place and manner" that a jurisdiction saw fit to allow or prohibit vending activities.

In consultation with our allies at the League of California Cities and the CA State Association of Counties, CDA will be coordinating a meeting with the author's office to discuss the bill further. CDA will continue to engage on this bill and may take a formal position on this bill later this month. If you would like to express your views on SB 946, or any other bill for that matter, please feel free to contact me anytime.


Jason Bryant 
Bryant Government Affairs
February 2018 Legislative Update 

IN THE NEWS
California's Next Urban Renewal Push Could Boost Transit-Oriented Development
Government Technology
Seven years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown eliminated an urban renewal program that provided billions of dollars for economic development and low-income housing. 
California's Race to the Top on Cannabis
CityLab
The drug war has a race problem. With pot newly legal, cities are making the case that legalization doesn't have to.
San Francisco's Massive New Whole Foods Set to Transform Mid-Market
SFGate.com
The biggest Whole Foods in San Francisco - a 55,000-square-foot store to be located at Market and Eighth streets - is expected to become the hub of a neighborhood that has seen an explosion of...
The Beverly Hills Affordable Housing Loophole
The New York Times
Last week Gov. Jerry Brown's Office of Housing and Community Development released a much-anticipated list of cities that will be subject to a new streamlining law that will essentially force...
Here's How Much Money Green Design Could Save Cities
Next City
It's no secret that green design features like living roofs, reflective pavements and urban tree cover are good for public health.
Better Market Street Update
StreetsBlogSF
Market Street hasn't been overhauled in 45 years, explained Simon Bertrang, Project Manager for the Better Market Street plan at San Francisco Public Works, during a presentation Monday evening to...
How Trump's New Budget Threatens Sacramento's Streetcar Future
The Sacramento Bee
The window of opportunity is tightening on Sacramento's streetcar hopes.

Welcome to San Francisco. Would You Like to Make a Deposit?
Next City 
A groundswell of interest in public banking has advocates pondering how city-owned banks could transform the way municipalities collect and spend their money.
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CDA District Digest Leadership

Executive Editor:
Steven Welliver
President, CDA
Editor:
Allison Shashok
Marketing & Communications Manager, IDA

Do you have your ear to the ground when it comes to the latest downtown news in your region?
To submit news to be considered for inclusion in the newsletter, please contact Allison Shashok at allison@downtown.org.