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Committee debates whether downtown business members must own property or may be operators
Summary
Committee members and a public attendee raised that many downtown businesses do not own their storefronts and recommended changing membership language from requiring property ownership to allowing business operators; staff agreed 'or' may be appropriate and will adjust draft wording.
Public commenter Jen LeClaire took the podium to flag a practical problem in the draft membership rules: several downtown businesses operate at locations they do not own.
“ We have a lot of business members that don't own the property they're located, cafe, etcetera,” Jen said, urging the committee to allow business operators — not just property owners — to qualify for the proposed commission. The committee discussed replacing the draft phrase that reads 'shall own real property and operate a business' with inclusive language. Rob, the staff member, agreed the text currently reads 'and' and said, “Perhaps it should say or.”
Committee members noted using 'or' would better reflect how local downtown commerce functions and avoid excluding operators who are invested in the district even if they do not hold title to buildings. The committee asked staff to revise the membership clause to clarify whether the business seat requires property ownership or will allow business operators.
