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Staff and Downtown Lynchburg Association introduce concept for a downtown improvement district
Summary
Downtown Lynchburg Association and city staff presented a primer on downtown improvement districts (DIDs/BIDs), including potential boundaries, revenue mechanics and typical uses such as cleaning, beautification, events and business support, and said they will return with more details.
City staff and leaders from the Downtown Lynchburg Association (DLA) gave finance committee members an introductory briefing on March 25 about the concept of a downtown improvement district (DID), often called a business improvement district (BID) in other cities.
Presenters described how a DID is a public‑private partnership that collects assessment revenue from property owners inside a clearly defined boundary to pay for additional services — marketing, cleaning and maintenance, public‑space enhancements, event programming, safety ambassadors and development support — that supplement city services but do not replace them. The presenters said formation requires local government approval and public hearings, and Virginia law provides specific guidance for special tax districts.
Using the DLA’s memorandum of understanding boundary as a starting point, staff showed a draft map that would enclose about 200 acres, roughly 674 parcels and about $270 million in assessed value; a 1¢ real‑estate tax assessment within that district would raise an estimated $27,000 per year, staff said. Staff explained a 10¢ assessment would generate roughly $275,000 and a 20¢ assessment roughly $550,000, and they outlined examples of fund uses, governance structures and reporting requirements.
Presenters emphasized several local considerations: the DLA has operated downtown programs for more than two decades and many existing DLA donors are downtown property owners, so a DID would require careful alignment of roles and funding sources. Virginia code also requires that DIDs cannot replace city services; staff said they would benchmark current city services before forming a district.
Committee members asked for additional data and asked staff to return to a future meeting with more detailed financial modeling and stakeholder outreach plans; staff said they would bring the topic back to the next finance committee meeting for questions and further discussion.
