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Council sets April 1 hearings, approves downtown BID assessment reports and intentions to levy
Summary
The council accepted the annual Downtown Walnut Creek Business Improvement District and Downtown Walnut Creek South BID assessment reports and adopted resolutions of intent to levy next fiscal year’s assessments, setting public hearings for April 1.
City staff and the Walnut Creek Downtown Association (WCD) presented the annual assessment reports and next-year budgets for the Downtown Walnut Creek Business Improvement District (BID) and the Downtown Walnut Creek South BID. Cathy (Cathy/Kathy) Hemingway, executive director of WCD, described events, marketing and volunteer programs and said the organization serves about 680 businesses in a 29-block boundary.
Economic Development Manager Mike Neiman explained that the two-step annual assessment process requires the council to set a public hearing date and send protest forms to assessed property owners and businesses. Staff requested council adoption of four resolutions: two accepting the annual assessment reports and two setting the resolution of intention to levy assessments for FY 2025–26 and setting the public hearings for April 1, 2025.
Council approved the four resolutions by roll call vote (Aye from Mayor Cindy Darling, Mayor Pro Tem Wilk, Council members Silva, Divini and Francois). Neiman and Hemingway said the BID’s work in 2024 included a refreshed events program, a new 501(c)(3) arm for public-facing programs and efforts to improve data collection for event metrics. WCD reported about 74,000 website visitors and a 50.7% average email open rate for its member newsletter.
Hemingway said the BID plans outdoor-dining relaunch efforts, additional Locust Street programming and continued coordination with city staff on public improvements. Staff will mail protest forms to businesses tomorrow; if a majority (51%) of assessed businesses submit protests by the April 1 hearing, the levy could be affected. The council also authorized the administrative cost recovery arrangement under which the city charges a 10% administrative fee on the annual assessments (the fee was originally authorized in 2011 and continues under an agreement through 2027).
