Introductory Meeting of Business Improvement District (BID) for Chinatown
Introductory Meeting of Business Improvement District (BID) for Chinatown
On March 9th, PCDC held the first community meeting at Good Good Comedy to introduce the “Chinatown/ North of Vine Area (NOVA) District” (working name). BID proposal to the neighborhood. Invitation letters were sent to more than 1,000 property owners in Chinatown, both south and north of Vine Street. On the day of, around 60 residents, property and business owners, stakeholders and interested parties attended the meeting. PCDC staff explained the purposes and functions of a BID, and presented the boundaries of “Chinatown/NOVA District” study area.
The diverse audience was given the chance to ask questions and express their opinions. The audience noticed that part of the “Chinatown/NOVA District” study area overlapped with Callowhill Improvement District (CID), and some of them have properties located in the overlapping boundaries. PCDC staff explained to the audience that both BIDs have not been approved, and the property owners have the right to support or vote against either of the two BIDs.
Maria Kim, a resident in north of Vine Street, pointed out that even though she supported the vision to create a “Chinatown/NOVA District” BID, it would not be possible until the CID is killed. The audience invited a representative from CID to share his/her perspective. Being asked if in the two years they planned the CID, did they provided language access during their community meetings, CID representative could not specify one that was organized by CID. One property owner expressed his dissatisfaction towards CID, because he had never received any notice about the formation of the BID until two years later.
The successful meeting provided valuable information for our community, and created an open platform for diverse stakeholders. It is only the start of PCDC’s engagement process. The creation of a BID affects everyone in the neighborhood, which makes it extremely important for the community to be fully involved. The “Chinatown/NOVA District” BID values an open and transparent process. Please feel free to reach out to PCDC if you want to be involved.