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Consultant outlines tourism improvement district model and feasibility steps for Daytona Beach
Summary
A consultant described how a tourism improvement district (assessment-based T-BID) would be structured, governance and petition requirements, potential uses (marketing, capital projects, trolleys) and proposed a roughly three-month feasibility study to assess local support and revenue projections.
A consultant told the Beachside Community Redevelopment Advisory Board that tourism improvement districts — assessment-based special-benefit districts often run by property owners and managed by a destination marketing organization — could provide a stable, payer-managed revenue stream for destination marketing and targeted capital projects in Daytona Beach.
"My name is Tiffany Gallagher. I'm with Civotas Advisors," the presenter said, explaining that the districts differ legally from taxes because they must demonstrate a measurable benefit to those who pay the assessment. Gallagher described common district uses including marketing, sports- and event-related capital projects, transportation improvements and workforce programming, and she cited case studies in other jurisdictions.
The consultant urged a feasibility study that would assemble a steering committee of stakeholders, draft a district plan and revenue projections, conduct a petition drive and, if successful, return to the city with a recommended ordinance and governance structure. Gallagher estimated a feasibility study would take about three months and suggested an initial cost in the low tens of thousands; she mentioned an illustrative feasibility fee of roughly $22,000.
Board members asked technical questions about opt-out clauses, governance and scale. Gallagher said assessments are generally compulsory for the district’s payers if the petition and local-approval thresholds are met, and that petition drives typically require owner support in excess of 50% (by units or rooms, depending on the design). She said the district’s specifics — which businesses pay, whether it would be hotel-only or include restaurants and retail, and the geographic boundary — would drive revenue projections and membership thresholds.
Members of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) attended the discussion and told board members they were viewing the model as a locally controlled funding tool to advance core-area improvements such as main-street beautification, trolleys or infrastructure that would otherwise be difficult to fund. The CVB said a feasibility study would surface potential program priorities and recommended boundaries to present to property owners before any petition.
Gallagher told the board that some Florida and out-of-state examples vary widely — from small blocks raising modest sums to larger countywide districts financing multi-million-dollar sports facilities — and stressed that the structure, term (often five to 10 years) and activities would be defined by the district plan and ordinance.
The board did not vote on any formal action. Staff said the next step, if the advisory board or city pursues the idea, would be to scope a formal feasibility study and identify potential funding sources to pay for that study.
