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Council approves consultant to study downtown business improvement district formation for Solvang
Summary
The council authorized a professional services agreement with NBS Government Finance Group to lead a feasibility study and formation process for a downtown Business Improvement District (BID). The contract covers stakeholder outreach, district design, budget modeling and petition/ballot phases.
The Solvang City Council on Oct. 13 authorized a not‑to‑exceed $89,175 agreement with NBS Government Finance Group to conduct stakeholder outreach, draft management and engineering reports, and support the petition and ballot steps needed to form a downtown Business Improvement District (BID).
City staff and consultants said the downtown BID concept would allow businesses or property owners in a defined district to fund services above and beyond city services — such as enhanced cleaning, marketing, wayfinding, safety patrols or other agreed services — through an assessment paid by participating stakeholders.
Staff described the NBS scope as including stakeholder interviews, recommended district structure and assessment methodology, preparation of the management district plan and engineer’s report, drafting required notices and ballots, and leading the petition and public hearing process. Danielle Wood of NBS, present online for the hearing, said the firm has worked with many California downtowns and that the work is “community driven” — stakeholders define desired services and the assessment structure before ballots are mailed.
The formation process is sequential: community engagement and a feasibility recommendation, a petition stage that must reach 50% of affected parcels (by the state formation rules), and then a mailed‑ballot phase requiring a majority approval of ballots returned for the proposed assessment. If approved, assessments are placed on the county tax roll and funds pass through to the district managers.
Council members asked whether the city’s Chamber of Commerce supported the study; staff said the Chamber’s executive committee was briefed and expressed interest in participating. Staff recommended the study be paid from the general fund and said the effort is expected to last about 12 months (six months for formation and six months for initial implementation support).
The council approved the contract 5‑0.
