Atlantic Avenue BID One Step Closer to Reality

Atlantic Avenue is just a final vote away from receiving funds that will give local businesses a major boost.

At a City Council public hearing yesterday for the Atlantic Avenue BID, Finance Committee members voted unanimously to move forward. A final vote is scheduled for June 14.

If approved,, as well as one block north and south on all side streets, will receive $240,000 for their first year budget.

The allocated budget will fund sanitation, beautification and marketing efforts.

"Having this BID will set the area apart as a unique commercial corridor that is going upward, and increase the value of nearby properties," testified Council Member Stephen Levin.

Several local business owners and members of community organization tesified in support of the BID at the hearing, saying that it will be able to handle improvements in areas they can't directly cover.

"The BID will take over physical improvements and marketing that we cannot take over due to legal constraints," said Sandy Balboza of the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association. It's important for us to plan for the future, and with this BID, we'll be able to do that based on local community needs."

In the proposed $240,000 budget, $40,000 will go towards sanitation and security, $73,000 will go towards marketing and promotions, $14,400 will go towards streetscape and beautification and $112,600 will be allotted for administration.

The BID itself is comprised of merchants and property owners within the allocated area, and each contribute a certain amount of money each year that the city holds and then redistributes back to the BID. These merchants and property owners then create priorities about how to spend the money.

Elizabeth Crowell, co-chair of the BID's steering committee and owner of , says that there are 300 properties within the area of the proposed Atlantic Avenue BID. For those properties which are residential, a fee of $1 per year is assessed.

"It's an incredible opportunity to effectively advocate for and unite businesses," said Crowell, who also noted that the BID would hire an Executive Directer and a full-time leader to promote the district.

But some local residents had their objections.

"The lack of transparency in the establishment of this BID is outrageous," said local resident Nat Hendrix. "On the ballot, there is no mention of where the boundaries are. They had a meeting a year ago at , and there was no mention of it even at the campus site. They need to start over and have everybody on the same page."

However, Domenic Recchia, Chairman of the Finance Committee, told Hendrix that the proposed BID had the best of intentions for the community.

"When you form a BID, the city is not giving up its rights to that area," said Recchia. "We still have an obligation to taxpayers. The BID is a way to improve the community, not to hurt anyone."

A final vote on the proposed BID is scheduled for June 14. Any objections to the BID must be formally submitted in writing to the city clerk by that date.