Taking Care of Main Street

, owner of , has a vision for Main Street just outside his storefront window.

He wants to make Half Moon Bay’s downtown area a Business Improvement District, a public-private partnership in which Main Street businesses pay annual dues in order to fund improvements and promote local commerce within the district’s boundaries.

And he’s not alone.

Other Main Street merchants like , , and as well as the and City Council members, all agree that there are many things downtown Half Moon Bay could benefit from by having the area designated as a Business Improvement District (BID), said Welch.

Over the past year, a group of Main Street merchants have been meeting to discuss what it would take to turn Half Moon Bay’s Main Street into a BID. The group meets once a month at , and getting the BID to form and sending out its first assessment with the City’s business license bills are at the top of the group’s agenda.

 “Yes, I am for it,” said Casey Sample, owner of Casey’s Café. “I’m part of the ‘looking into it’ committee.”

“I think it’s great for the merchants to organize and work together in some way,” said Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce CEO Charise McHugh. “The Downtown Business Association has never been well supported. The Chamber will continue to represent and work with Main Street merchants regardless of the outcome.”

A Half Moon Bay Business Improvement District would employ a director who would coordinate the Main Street events. The former Downtown Business Association relied solely on volunteer involvement and was therefore “somewhat limited and fragmented in what it could accomplish,” said Welch, who has recently taken on the leadership role of the group seeking to form a BID. “By banding together and forming a BID, the downtown merchants might accomplish more than the former Downtown Business Association ever could.”

Beautification projects, cleaning streets, providing security, making capital improvements, construction of pedestrian and streetscape enhancements, and marketing the area with better advertising and Main Street signage are just a few more of the services a BID would provide.

A group devoted to these issues would provide the funds and support needed to drive business to the area and promote local commerce because “the City and the Chamber each have larger agendas and can’t do everything that needs to be done,” said Welch.

To make this dream a reality, “people need to get involved,” said Welch. “There is perhaps a year-long process ahead during which time the BID steering committee with gather input from the community and then propose format and structure for the BID. Part of this process will most likely involve legal assistance to assure the correct and proper formation of a BID.”

At the group’s first meeting more than six months ago, there were speakers from other cities who have turned their downtown areas into BIDs, including San Jose. For Santa Cruz, a BID helped revitalizing the downtown area after the 1989 earthquake.

Still, when Welch went to that very first meeting, he admits he was a skeptic.

“But at that first meeting I began to believe that the formation of a Half Moon Bay BID could truly benefit everyone involved. I became more involved at that point mainly to help ensure that if a BID is formed, that it will be done with the knowledge and hopefully the participation of our entire business community. To that end one of my next goals is to take our discussion on-line.”

A small amount of opposition has come from some business owners, who are doing well and “who believe that they do not need or will not benefit from the BID,” he said. “Of course most people, including myself, are not eager to adopt yet another annual fee.”

It’s true that in a struggling economy and an uncertain business climate, some downtown merchants may balk at having to pay an annual fee for a BID.

“What I say to these people, including myself, is: ‘Let’s wait until we know what that fee would be and what might be accomplished with it and make an informed decision at that time.’”

Still, the group’s preliminary research shows that fees ranging from $100 to $400 annually assessed to each of the approximately 250 businesses in downtown Half Moon Bay could generate an operating budget of $50,000 for the BID. 

"I think it will take another few months before we have any clear recommendation,” said Welch, in regards to how much each merchant would pay. “There are many variables in this equation...the BID steering committee has just begun its work to answer this question."

How would the money be spent? Welch said that he also thinks it is "far too early to theorize about spending money, which may never be collected.”

One of the most common requests made during the group’s research so far is for a grand archway sign to designate Half Moon Bay's downtown at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 92.

“I would think that in addition to projects like that, we would spend money on marketing and advertising, events such as , and general downtown beautification,” said Welch.

To make the BID a reality within the next year, Welch says the group could still use greater involvement from the business owners of the downtown area. "We would also be grateful for any offer of free legal advice, which might help us to form the BID without incurring potentially substantial legal fees,”  he said.

The next meeting of downtown merchants will take place the morning of April 13. For more information, contact Peter Welch at his business, .