BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President

Rena Masten Leddy, LPM

Urban Place Consulting Group

Immediate Past President

Steve Snider

Downtown Oakland Association

Vice President

Austin Metoyer

Downtown Long Beach Alliance

2nd Vice President

Suzanne Holley

Downtown Center Business Improvement District (LA)

Secretary

Chloe Shipp

San Jose Downtown Association

Treasurer

John Caner

Downtown Berkeley Association

At-Large Directors

Shifra de Benedictis-Kessner

City of Oakland

Mackenzie Carter, LPM

The Hollywood Partnership

Kevin Clerici

Downtown Ventura Partners

Josh Coyne

Downtown San Diego Partnership

Kathy Hemmenway

Walnut Creek Downtown

Business Association

Christian Martin

SOMA West CBD

Steve Mulheim

Old Pasadena Management District

Jameson Parker

Midtown Association Sacramento

Andrew Robinson

The East Cut

Marisa Rodriguez

Union Square Alliance

Bettina Swagger

Downtown San Luis Obispo

Andrew Thomas

Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. 

Liz Lorand Williams

Downtown Sacramento Partnership

IN THE NEWS

California's Wildlife Conservation Board Funds Projects to Restore and Protect Habitats

Planetizen

The Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) just approved approximately $51.83 million in grants to help restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat throughout California.

READ MORE

Orange County Developers Eye Dying Malls for Housing, Mixed-Use

Planetizen

As indoor malls lose their luster, their properties offer convenient amenities and infrastructure perfectly suited for redevelopment into housing, parks, and retail.

READ MORE

New CA Senate Select Committee Formed to Study Bay Area Transit Issues

Streetsblog

The stated purpose is to "address the unique challenges and opportunities facing public transportation in the Bay Area as the region emerges from the pandemic."

READ MORE



San Francisco ranked 3rd best city for retirees in US

KRON4

Retirees approach their golden years in countless ways—some may prefer a rural and quiet small town, a spot near the water, or a retirement community in a warm place. Others may want a big city with plenty of exciting activities seniors can participate in whenever their heart desires. 

READ MORE

There’s a plan to make e-bikes more affordable for low-income Californians. Here’s what to expect

Los Angeles Times

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is launching a program to encourage more Californians to replace vehicle trips with electric bikes

READ MORE

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 us.

Letter from President of the Board, Rena Masten Leddy

Join us! The Board of Directors of California Downtown Association (CDA) is issuing a call for interest in becoming a CDA Committee Member. We encourage you to become more involved in CDA, whose purpose is to lead and empower urban place management organizations by providing legislative support and advocacy to ensure public spaces thrive. The following are the CDA Committee options:

Program Committee

Committee members will define, create and implement valuable programming for members.  

West Coast Urban District Forum (WCUDF) 2024

Along with IDA/CDA and the Host Organization, Committee members will define the theme for the conference and create content for the conference. Members will recruit speakers, moderators and presenters. This committee meets regularly between July and March.

Membership Committee

This committee ensures that member benefits are fulfilled, and manages membership dues and administration. In addition, committee members assist with new member outreach, membership campaigns and membership programming.

Legislative Committee

This committee works with the CDA lobbyist to determine the policy agenda for CDA. Along with our lobbyist, the Committee reviews each year’s proposed bills and identifies the ones that the CDA Board considers. This committee has 10 current members from the Board and would like to extend an invitation to three (3) additional people. Every member of this committee must commit to contribute double their organization’s membership dues. For example, if your organization's CDA dues is $500, and you sit on the legislative committee, you agree to contribute an additional $500. The committee meets a minimum of 2x per month from January through September.   

Committee Member Requirements

• Must be a CDA Member in good standing
• We encourage all levels of staff as committee members, but only one staff person per organization can sit on each committee
• Each committee meets approximately once a month; however, both WCUDF and Legislative have schedules based on their own timelines.
• In an effort to maintain committee balance, each committee seeks its best effort to include representation from the various regions within the state

If you are interested, please send an email by March 5, 2023, to [email protected]. In the email, please include your interest in which committee and why you are interested.  

Call for Conference Hosts

Be a part of the next great West Coast Urban District Forum! We are looking for future host cities for the West Coast Urban District Forum, the regional annual conference of the International Downtown Association and California Downtown Association. Locations are being sought for Host cities for 2024, 2025, and 2026. Traditionally, the preference is to hold the conference in March.

Host City Responsibilities:

• Responsible for obtaining, securing and establishing conference content, format and speakers (IDA/CDA to assist).
• Generate the conference budget along with CDA/IDA.
• Raise a minimum of $20,000 in cash support/sponsors for the Conference.
• Secure venue(s). (IDA to assist).
• Recruit and schedule volunteers.
• Assist in securing hotel, meeting locations, plenary locations and receptions.
• Coordinate all logistical arrangements for the conference, both on and off-site events. Arrangements include but are not limited to transportation, A/V, and catering (with assistance from IDA/CDA).

If you are interested, please send an email by March 5, 2023 to [email protected]. In the email, please include the year you are interested in and why you are interested.  

Rena Masten Leddy, LPM

CDA President

Urban Place Consulting Group

[email protected]

2023 WCUDF CDA Member Rate

Registration is still open for the 2023 West Coast Urban District Forum. This year, there are member and nonmember rates to attend the event. As a CDA member please use the code: WCUDFCDAD when registering for the event in order to receive the member rate. To register for the Forum, you need to either have an account in IDA’s database or you must create one. If you previously registered for an event in the past, you should have an account in the database. For more information, please visit the event website: downtown.org/wcudf

Outlook Forum Keynote Discount for CDA Members

Dear California Downtown Association Partner, 

As you may know, California’s premier tourism industry conference, Outlook Forum, is taking place March 7-9, 2023, in Sacramento.

While we’d love to have you register for the entire conference, if your time is limited, we’d like to share the opportunity to join us on March 8 at 8:00 a.m. for our CEO Caroline Beteta’s keynote speech and networking breakfast. Caroline always delivers a well-researched presentation on the state of the industry, trends in tourism marketing and what’s next from Visit California. The cost to attend is $79. You can register online by selecting “Industry Attendee” and typing in the discount code: KEYNOTE

We hope to see you there!

Outlook Forum Keynote Discount for CDA Members

Dear California Downtown Association Partner, 

As you may know, California’s premier tourism industry conference, Outlook Forum, is taking place March 7-9, 2023, in Sacramento.

While we’d love to have you register for the entire conference, if your time is limited, we’d like to share the opportunity to join us on March 8 at 8:00 a.m. for our CEO Caroline Beteta’s keynote speech and networking breakfast. Caroline always delivers a well-researched presentation on the state of the industry, trends in tourism marketing and what’s next from Visit California. The cost to attend is $79. You can register online by selecting “Industry Attendee” and typing in the discount code: KEYNOTE

We hope to see you there!

Government Affairs Report by Jason Bryant

Bill Introduction Deadline

Last Friday, February 17th, was the deadline for lawmakers to introduce bills in the 2023 legislative session. The Assembly and Senate have introduced almost 2,100 bills and approximately half of them are placeholders (i.e., intent or spot bills). Only committee bills, or bills with the approval of Assembly & Senate Leadership with a rule waiver, or special session bills can be introduced after this past Friday’s deadline.

CDA’s Legislative Committee will be reviewing and prioritizing the bills of interest for the organization this year and will keep the membership updated on bills the organization will take formal “support” or “oppose” position on.  

Senator Lena Gonzalez and California Labor Federation Announce Bill to Ensure 7 Paid Sick Days for All Workers

Last week, Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and the California Labor Federation announced the introduction of Senate Bill 616, which seeks to expand California's current paid sick leave law. If passed, the bill would ensure that all workers in both the public and private sectors are entitled to seven days of paid sick leave per year.

California became the first state to pass an earned sick leave law for all workers in 2014. However, the state has fallen behind other states and cities that have since enacted more generous paid sick leave policies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency measures were taken to provide most mid-to-large sized employer workers with temporary access to 10 days of supplemental paid sick leave.

“All workers in our state deserve to take the time off they need to recover and take care of themselves and their families when they get sick,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach). “During the pandemic, we saw the immensely positive outcomes of having COVID-related sick leave, preventing more outbreaks in workplaces, averting prolonged illness amongst employees and maintaining workplace productivity. Life happens and people get sick; ensuring the health and safety of workers should be just as important now as it was when we were at the height of the pandemic. Three days of sick leave is just not enough, and that is why this year I am proud to partner with the California Labor Federation to extend this critical safety-net for all working Californians.”

Senator Wiener Announces Reauthorization of the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health and Addiction. 

On Thursday, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced the reauthorization of the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health and Addiction. Senator Wiener will serve as the committee's Chair and Senators Allen, Ashby, Cortese, Menjivar, Newman, and Ochoa Bogh have been appointed as members of the committee. The Select Committee was initially established last year and will continue its focus on investigating mental health and substance use disorders while identifying ways to enhance access to care and treatments.

Jason Bryant 

Bryant Government Affairs