Controversial New Bedford Business Improvement District plan being withdrawn

NEW BEDFORD — A proposal to establish a downtown business district where property owners kick in funds to make the area more attractive is being withdrawn by the petitioners.

The Business Improvement District or BID drew 70 or so people to the City Council's June 10 Finance Committee meeting opposed to the plan, many viewing it as a move toward gentrification and pricing tenants out.

Several business and downtown non-profit representatives spoke in favor of the district idea when it was initially brought before the committee in April.

Finance Committee Chair Linda Morad issued a press release Tuesday that she had received a letter from the petitioners requesting they be allowed to withdraw the BID petition.

The continued public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Monday, July 22.

Morad said the letter will be presented at the hearing Monday. If the committee moves forward on the withdrawal as expected, there will be no need for further public input, she said.

Morad thanked the petitioners, residents and business owners who participated in the process, as well as New Bedford department heads for reviewing the "complex project."

This will be the second time in the last decade that the BID was rejected.

Second look: New Bedford City Council wants more time, info on proposed downtown business district

Small property owners and tenants were against the idea during the previous failed attempt to develop a BID in 2015, which was noted in the latest proposal.

Did BID proposal meet presentation requirement?

It wasn't clear whether the BID had satisfied legal requirements to be considered by the council.

City departments had been asked to verify whether the requirements had been met prior to Monday's meeting.

State law requires a petition in favor representing 51% of the total assessments generated from all the participating BID real properties, and 60% of the real property owners within the BID.

BID proponents said they had 65.6% representing total assessments in favor; that is, property owners representing $58,230,000 out of a total assessed valuation of $88,741,700.

And, they said they had 34 out of 53 real property owners, or 64%, in favor of the proposal.

Morad had questioned whether those threshold figures were accurate.

Would have created annual enhancement fund

The BID would have included 83 parcels, and 52 property owners in the heart of downtown, according to the proposal.

Proponent Li Mandri is president of New City America, headquartered in San Diego, Calif.

He has been involved in business district revitalization efforts since 1988, according to the company website, and he said he has established 94 similar districts across the country.

He said the downtown New Bedford BID would fund additional maintenance and enhanced services to improve downtown's look and allure.

That would create property demand and boost values, as well as increase demand for retail services and restaurants, according to the proposal.

Proponents say it's not a tax

The BID assessment is not a tax, he has said, but a special assessment.

It would be based on building square footage and parcel size.

A non-profit private corporation would have been created to oversee it - the Downtown New Bedford Improvement Association, which would be open to BID members or non-members from within the district.

It would have been located at 794 Purchase St., a building which is owned by Li Mandri, and purchased in 2019.

How the money would have been spent

The first-year's proposed assessments would have totaled $194,429.

The city would have contributed an extra $45,000, bringing the total to $239,429.

The proposed spending of the $194,429 in the first year would have included:

• $46,000 for sidewalk cleaning, beautification;
• $96,000 for district marketing and promotion, including special events;
• $45,000 for management advocacy, including staff and administrative costs;
• $7,429 for contingencies, which can be used in the case of member non-payment due to hardship.

Owner-occupied residential parcels and smaller commercial properties with annual assessments less than $1,000 per year would have been exempt from payment unless they opted to pay in, according to the proposal.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Controversial New Bedford Business Improvement District plan being withdrawn