Downtown Norfolk Council outlines services, budget and timeline as improvement district renewal approaches
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Summary
Mary Miller of the Downtown Norfolk Council told the City Council that Norfolk’s Downtown Improvement District, established in 1999 and last renewed in 2019, is up for renewal; she described the district’s services, the assessment revenue (about $2.1 million) and a steering-committee timeline that could lead to a council public hearing in May.
Mary Miller, president and CEO of the Downtown Norfolk Council, told the Norfolk City Council at a July work session that the downtown improvement district is approaching the end of its current term and the organization is preparing a renewal recommendation.
Miller said the district was established in 1999, has been renewed four times and "expires June 30." She said the district is "funded through strictly through property assessments" at a current rate of "16¢ per 100" and that in FY25 and in FY26 the district "generates about $2,100,000." The budget supports 17 ambassadors and eight full-time equivalent DNC administrative staff; Selden (Selden Market) staffing was described as "2 full time and 2 part time."
Miller outlined the services funded by assessments: daily trash-can emptying, graffiti removal on city infrastructure and, by agreement, on private property, leaf removal, maintenance of 36 dog-waste stations, outreach and support to people experiencing homelessness, and event and placemaking projects such as the Granby Arch Lights and Neon District public art. "We do graffiti removal on all the city infrastructure," she said, listing examples including utility and traffic-control boxes.
The DNC contracted Progressive Urban Management Associates and formed a steering committee chaired by Rafael Allen, who Miller identified as the chief operating officer for Marathon Development and a DNC board member. Miller said a public survey has received more than 300 responses and closes this week; results are scheduled to be discussed by the steering committee at a meeting next Tuesday. The committee will consider boundaries, service mix, target budget, property-value trends, assessment methodology and term length before the DNC board considers a recommendation in April. Miller said the goal is for City Council to schedule a public hearing on the renewal in May to align with other council meetings.
No formal council vote on the renewal was recorded in the work session. The next procedural steps reported in the meeting record are steering-committee deliberations, a DNC board consideration in April and a potential council public hearing in May.
