May 2022
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Rena Masten Leddy
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
Oakland Chamber of Commerce

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

Andrew Robinson
The East Cut

Marisa Rodriguez
Union Square Alliance

Bettina Swagger
Downtown San Luis Obispo

Andrew Thomas
Westwood Village Improvement Association

Liz Lorand Williams
Downtown Sacramento Partnership
IN THE NEWS

California high-speed rail officials want to tap remaining $4.1 billion in bond funds
The Mercury News "Officials in charge of California’s slow-going high-speed rail project want to tap $4.1 billion in bond money to finish ongoing construction in the Central Valley, completing a segment of track that is just a fraction of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line voters approved the money for in 2008."

LA’s Bus Network Redesign Hamstrung by Operator Shortfall
Transit Center
"LA Metro recently implemented its NextGen Bus Plan, a long-awaited network redesign that Metro promised would “provide fast, frequent, reliable and accessible service to meet the needs of today’s riders."

How Santa Ana discourages new housing with hefty fees
Cal Matters
"California’s 400 cities have reacted in myriad ways to pressure from the state to encourage housing construction."

Inside one city’s multimillion-dollar effort to convert motels into affordable housing
Cal Matters
"New zoning rules could allow property owners to tear down traditional single-family neighborhood homes and put up three to five-story apartment complexes right next door."
Letter from President of the Board, Rena Masten Leddy

Half way through 2022, urban place management organizations are once again proving to be resilient with an ability to pivot to meet the current needs and challenges of our downtowns, districts, commercial corridors and Main Streets. Many of our organizations are creating new economic development strategies and place making initiatives or elevating our maintenance and safety programs. I am very proud of my colleagues and the work that is being done. To that end, I want to highlight some of that work in these monthly columns. The first one is from Los Angeles, the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID). Suzanne Holley and her team are doing phenomenal, multi-disciplinary work to foster the economic recovery of downtown Los Angeles. They are focusing on “office” and the “future of work”.

  • Link to Office Guide which discusses the Future of Work and how well-suited Downtown is in addressing current needs
  • Link to DTLA Works home page which provides an online interface to Office Guide information
  • Link to invitation of livestream introduction of DTLA Virtual (platform that drills down on specific properties/neighborhoods with 360 degree panos of Downtown)
  • Link to findings of symposium the DCBID produced with the Alliance for SoCal Innovation where industry experts on three panels discussed needs of people/places/and spaces of the future
  • Links to a handful of supporting articles
  • A New Era of Downtown Opportunity Congress for New Urbanism
  • Young Employees Losing Out by Not Going to the Office CNBC
  • Downtowns: Adapting to Create More Outdoor Room The Atlantic

Odds and Ends

CDA’s sponsored bill is moving quickly and with great support. CDA’s sponsored bill, AB 2890, by Asm. Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) was approved by the State Assembly on Monday! The bill now heads to the State Senate where it will be heard in the Senate Governance & Finance Committee in June!

I hope that you have all registered for the upcoming WCUDF in Reno. The conference is hosted by the Downtown Reno Partnership, California Downtown Association and International Downtown Association. The conference is June 15-17, 2022. Our theme, Moving Into Recovery will resonate with all of us as we figure out our next steps for downtowns. The conference committee has some great programs and tours planned. Registration for regular rate is $395 until June 8, 2022. Register here

For more information about how you can help, please contact Rena Masten Leddy at: [email protected].
Government Affair Report by Jason Bryant

State Assembly Approves CDA-sponsored Legislation
 
On Monday, the California State Assembly approved CDA’s sponsored bill, AB 2890 by Asm. Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) which would significantly improve the process for the formation and renewal of PBIDs. The bill’s passage comes on the final week for lawmakers to pass all bills out of their “house of origin” where those measures were introduced this year. The bill now heads to the State Senate where it will be heard in the Senate Governance & Finance Committee in June. 
 
CDA is sponsoring AB 2890 this year because the legislation will: 
 
  • Clarify the special benefit of the programs, which will help PBID assessments avoid unnecessary and costly legal challenges.  

  • Amends the Streets and Highways Code § 36600 et seq. to give direction to engineers on how to accurately calculate the benefits in accordance with the law. 

  • Helps protect BIDs from litigation challenges that severely impede – or even eliminate – PBIDs and the benefits they provide.


CDA Supports Governor’s “CARE Court” Program
 
The CDA Board took a major step in helping stop the cycle of homelessness, incarceration and hospitalization due to mental health problems by taking a support position on SB 1338 by Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana). The legislation would establish the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program, which would authorize specified persons to petition a civil court to create a CARE plan and implement services for individuals suffering from specified mental health disorders. If the court determines the individual is eligible for the CARE Court Program, the court would order the implementation of a CARE plan, as devised by the relevant county behavioral services agency, and would oversee the individual’s participation in the plan. The legislation would allow state and county governments to act earlier to support the most vulnerable in our communities to avoid the worst-case scenarios – incarceration, restrictive conservatorships or death.  The bill will be taken up this week on the Senate Floor where it is expected to pass. It would then move to the Assembly for consideration.
 
 
CDA Flags Bill to Require Prevailing Wage for Street Sweeping Contracts

Last week, the CDA Board flagged AB 1886 by Asm. Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) which would require the payment of “prevailing wage” for private street sweeping and maintenance agreements for publicly owned streets, roads or highways under contract.  The CDA Government Affairs Committee is in touch with the author’s office and is reviewing the bill to determine the impact to PBIDs and if a position is warranted. The bill language can be found here: Bill Language
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