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March 2019
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Andrew Thomas
Westwood Village Improvement Association

President-Elect
Steve Snider
Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt-Uptown District Associations
 
Vice President
Liz Studebaker
City of San Diego
 
Secretary
Chip
Downtown Association of Santa Cruz
 
Treasurer
Austin Metoyer
Downtown Long Beach Alliance
 
At-Large Directors
Emilie Cameron 
Downtown Sacramento Partnership

Karin Flood
Union Square Business Improvement District

Kathy Hemmenway
Walnut Creek Downtown

Suzanne Holley
Downtown Center Business Improvement District (LA)
 
Steve Mulheim
Old Pasadena Management District

Chloe Verrey
San Jose Downtown Association
 
Immediate Past President
Steven Welliver
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
CDA MEMBERS
Arlington Business Partnership
Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association
BLVD Association
Carmichael Improvement District, Inc.
Central City Association
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 Pomona Owners Association
Downtown Roseville Partnership
Downtown Sacramento Partnership
Downtown San Diego Partnership
Downtown Santa Barbara, Inc.
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
Downtown SLO
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
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
Andrew Thomas VP
If you were able to attend the 2019 West Coast Urban District Forum (WCUDF) in the Fashion District in Downtown Los Angeles, I hope you enjoyed the opportunities to learn, share, network, and also explore a unique and evolving community. This WCUDF is certainly the premier event of its kind on the West Coast. Our CDA members and registered guests agree. Over 180 people, one of the highest attendance levels we have seen, participated in the conference.

I am so impressed by the topics discussed at the WCUDF. At our conference we heard exceptional Master Talks from industry experts on the history of experiential retail, the impacts of parking policies on commercial districts, facilitating civic engagement through an equity lens, strategies for marketing and event programming, and investing in social service to strengthening business improvement district programs.

Our Breakout Sessions covered a range of issues including strategic planning for downtowns, leveraging development to invest in infrastructure, defining equity outcomes, parking requirements and their impacts on development, dealing with changing retail mixes, and maximizing staff and productivity. Our Keynote speaker, Dr. Jonathan Sherin from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health enlightened us with his words about the state of mental health as it affects our most vulnerable population. 

I would like to thank the LA Fashion District BID, IDA, and my fellow CDA Board Members for working so hard to put together such an outstanding event. Now we want to hear from you! Please respond to our survey via this link and let us know how you felt about WCUDF19.

Thank you again for attending the conference, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all at our WCUDF in 2020 in Downtown San Jose.


Andrew Thomas, CDA President
Executive Director
Westwood Village Improvement Association
CDA POLICY CORNER
CDA Board Establishes 2019 Legislative Priorities  

One of the many highlights of last week’s West Coast Urban District Forum hosted by the LA Fashion District was the consideration and debate by CDA’s Board of Directors establishing this year’s priority legislative issues. The Board is focused on three main issue areas, a. public space management, b. economic development, and c. BID operational efficiency.  

The Board considered and ultimately took a number of positions on key legislation, including:

SB 50, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – SUPPORT
The bill waives apartment bans near high-quality transit and in job-rich areas to ensure that the benefits of public investments in transportation are broadly accessible to Californians of all incomes. The bill also includes specific requirements to provide low-income housing in new development to ensure that market-rate construction is always coupled with affordable units for the lowest income Californians. SB 50 applies to sites that are either within ½ mile of high-quality public transportation, or within a job-rich, high-opportunity neighborhood. Under SB 50, a local government will be allowed to approve higher-density housing with no parking requirements, provided the site is adjacent to transit, or reduced parking requirements in areas close to jobs and high-quality schools. Height limits for new housing with close, walkable access to rail transit will be loosened to encourage mid-rise, apartment-style housing construction. 

SB 518, Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) – OPPOSE 
The bill would incentivize additional litigation and increase legal costs to BIDs for disputes that involve the California Public Records Act (CPRA). Under current law, the CPRA mandates that a court awards costs and reasonable attorney fees to requestors should they prevail. However, current law also provides for an “998 offer”, which derives it its name from the code section it is found in, which encourages both trial attorney’s (requestors) and those who must comply with the CPRA to settle disputes out of court. The purpose of a “998 offer” is to encourage settlement by providing a strong financial disincentive to a party, whether it be a plaintiff or defendant, who fails to achieve a better result than that party could have achieved by accepting the opponent’s out-of-court settlement offer. SB 518 would remove “998 offer” opportunity for disputes involving the CPRA.  

SB 23, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – SUPPORT 
In an effort to reduce vehicle burglary rates, the bill would close a loophole in state law by expanding the definition of burglary of a vehicle by including “entering a vehicle by forced entry”. The bill is designed to protect tourists and visitors who are often unavailable to testify at a later date that their vehicle was locked when the crime occurred. CDA is supporting the bill. 

AB 1184, Asm. Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) – OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED 
This act furthers the right of public access to the writings of local public officials and local agencies by requiring that public agencies preserve for at least 2 years every writing transmitted by electronic mail. Unfortunately, the standard of maintaining “every writing” no matter what the nature of the communication is exceedingly burdensome to our members. CDA is working with a broad-based coalition to help the author understand the unintended consequences this bill could have, in particular for BIDs. 

Jason Bryant 
Bryant Government Affairs
March 2019 Legislative Update 
WEST COAST URBAN DISTRICT FORUM
The 2019 West Coast Urban District Forum was held last week in Los Angeles. Co-hosted by The LA Fashion District, California Downtown 
Association and IDA, WCUDF master talks and breakout sessions explored 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 shared best practices on enhancing downtown quality of life and cultivating the next generation of leaders.

If you missed this year's forum or you'd like to revisit session presentations, visit  CaliforniaDowntown.com to view available presentations now.
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Upward of 10,000 People Descended on Dolores Park Last Weekend
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