Trustees Unanimously Approve a Special Improvement District for South Orange

On Monday, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the creation of a Special Improvement District (SID) for South Orange, ending a long and sometimes contentious process.  The ordinance will now be enacted into law.

The ordinance creates both a SID and a Downtown Business Improvement Zone (DBIZ).  The next step in the process is for Village Counsel Steven Rother to work with Main Street South Orange to transform their organization into a Downtown Management Corporation. 

An advisory committee met from April 2011 until October 2011 to determine if a SID should be enacted.  The committee , however, many business owners .

In November 2011, an ordinance was brought to the BOT; however the trustees , saying it needed more work.  Following two SID workshops, .

The ordinance declares that South Orange will benefit from a SID with respect to:

1. Beautification, cleanliness, maintenance and design standards
2. Marketing, advertising, public relations and events
3. Business recruitment and retention
4. Coordination of downtown activities and clearinghouse for information

Some of the powers given to the corporation would include the ability to manage a staff, apply for grants, enter into contracts with any person or company to exercise their functions, organize special events in the district, provide security and sanitation, advertise the district and the businesses in the district, recruit new businesses to the district and provide holiday decorations.

The corporation will be controlled by a board of twelve members.  Included will be one trustee, four property owners, four business owners or operators, two residents who are neither a property nor business owner and one member of the Parking Authority.  The will be two ex officio non-voting members; the Village Administrator or a designee and a representative from the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC).  The Board of Trustees will decide all the members of the board with the exception of the Parking Authority member.

While the BOT’s comments were minimal on Monday, members of the public and the business community came out to urge them the BOT to pass the ordinance.

Michael Auer, a member of the SID advisory committee and co-chair of the Citizen’s Budget Advisory Committee, said that he thinks a SID will provide the town with solutions to three big problems as it relates to the business district; “beautification,” “marketing and promotion” and “recruitment and retention.”  He said that while some things could potentially go wrong including lack of trustee oversight and management not providing the needs of the SID, he felt that given the track record of SIDs in New Jersey, the risk was worth taking.

“I think the track record of SIDs in New Jersey has been very positive and far outweighs any negative issues that have come up,” said Auer.  “I think as we look how to make this town as good as we all envision it could be, the residents of South Orange should encourage the trustees to approve the resolution to make a SID happen.”

Ed Schwartz, who owns an office building within the district, pointed out that a SID may not be as beneficial to office buildings as it is to retail stores.  However, he did “recognize that an active and diverse retail downtown helps in a general way.”  He said that he hopes that the corporation’s board narrows in on more specific goals and brought up various ideas, including the use of websites to further their mission and advertising.

“If we are going to create a SID and spend a million dollars, let’s ensure that it provides a payback to our town and those payments,” said Schwartz.

Former Village President Bill Calabrese said that South Orange is “one community” and that the cost of a SID should be shared between residents and the business community.  He recommended that the “community at-large” share in the cost of the SID and not just “pick on the weakest link in the community, the commercial property owners, because they don’t vote.”

“Remember, what improves the downtown, improves the residential; what improves the residential, improves the downtown,” said Calabrese.

Thurman McKoy, a future business owner in South Orange, who is opening up an insurance business in June, said that “what makes businesses successful…is support from the business community and support from everybody that uses it.”

“The amount of the assessment that each business is responsible for is pretty small in comparison to what I think you are going to get from it,” said McKoy.  “I’d like to see, as a business owner, a great business environment where consumers want to come and shop.”

Jared Hutter, and a member of the SID Advisory committee, said that the committee entered the process with an open mind about whether to create a SID or not.  He said that a SID may not be needed right now, but that it’s a good time to enact one before a SID is needed.

“We’re not at the bottom, but my thought process now is why wait until we are at the bottom,” said Hutter.  “Why not put a catalyst in now, push it forward, and make a town reach its potential.”

He pointed out that “a SID will not guarantee the success of any downtown business” and that businesses need to work on themselves to improve.

Robyn Fields, owner of and the chairperson of the SID advisory committee, said that she “entered the process not knowing much about a SID,” but after going through the process, she knows that “now is the right time for South Orange.”

“South Orange has not reached its full potential and it can,” said Fields.  “A SID will help.”

Following the public hearing, the BOT voted 6-0 to approve the SID for South Orange.  The plan is for a timeline of it’s enactment to be presented at the next BOT meeting on March 26.

“I am pleased that the Board of Trustees unanimously voted for a Special Improvement District to make South Orange competitive with our successful neighboring towns,” Fields told Patch after the meeting.  “This gives us the best advantage for a vibrant downtown and future.”