Have you been wondering what all the fuss is about the Santa Ana PBID? Well, wonder no more. I got a hold of all the city documents related to the PBID, and you can view them by clicking here. This link will take you to a Google Documents folder with numerous documents related to the PBID, including:
So what is the PBID? It is a property assessment, which is to say a tax, on businesses and property owners in much of Downtown Santa Ana. Recently the Santa Ana City Council redrew the PBID’s boundaries, making it smaller, in order to get rid of some of the businesses that were complaining about the PBID.
The PBID funds are administered by Downtown, Inc., an organization that is run by a Board that holds officer elections in March. Click here to read their latest meeting agenda. Click here to see their latest meeting minutes. Click here to see their 2010 Annual Report. And click here to see their latest newsletter. Click here to see their Financial Review.
Irv Chase recently resigned from Downtown, Inc.’s board. Who else is on their board? That is hard to say. I could not find a current list of their Board Members, but here is what I found in their last annual report, relative to their board and staff:
Board Directors, 2009/10 Officers
Term Expiration:
Property Owners – Directors
Neighborhood Representative Property Owner
Merchant Representative Business Owner
City of Santa Ana Representatives
Staff
Note that Cindy Nelson is also off their board now, as she retired. She was the one who came up with the PBID idea, along with now retired Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream. Together they cooked up a scheme that allowed the PBID vote to be somewhat rigged as the City of Santa Ana had a bunch of votes, due to the fact that they own a lot of land in the Downtown area. The PBID passed essentially with less than a majority vote – and today a lot of folks say they didn’t even have a chance to vote.
I am hearing that some of the folks who are upset about the PBID are going to sue the City of Santa Ana. They are going to demand that the PBID be cancelled. I am told that they are open to having a new PBID election – and it would likely fail without the scheming duo of Ream and Nelson.
Has the PBID been effective? In many ways, yes. Downtown Santa Ana is clean and safe and there has been of marketing. However critics say that the marketing has only benefited a few – primarily the bars and restaurants.
I am a fan of Downtown Inc.’s Executive Director, Vicky Baxter. She has worked very hard and done the best job possible under trying circumstances. That said, the problem with PBID is how it was put together by Ream and Nelson. What they did was unjust and quite possibly illegal. Until this is dealt with the PBID will remain a sore spot and there will not be peace in Downtown Santa Ana.
Personally I believe a new PBID election is warranted. That is the only way to resolve the issue. The longer the Santa Ana City Council sits on their hands the worse the situation will become.
I also think that while the Downtown Inc. promoter, Archer Altstaetter, has been effective in marketing both Downtown Santa Ana and the new East End Promenade, he has also ventured into politics – in particular he has declared war on Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez. That was very ill-advised. Downtown, Inc. should have remained above the fray. Now they have pissed off Alvarez and her allies. That won’t end well, I can assure you.
There has in fact been talk among the Archer contingent of launching a recall against Alvarez. Good luck with that. If they do that I am quite sure that the Santa Ana City Council will summarily cancel the PBID.
One more thing – the artists in the Santa Ana Artists Village are not happy about the move by Archer to extend the monthly Art Walk to the East End Promenade. I went to the last Art Walk and saw for myself that extending the Art Walk both East and West has in fact diluted the crowds at the Santora Building. This extension is going to prove costly for the artists.
UPDATE: According to comments left on this blog by past mayoral candidate Stanley Fiala and Art Lomeli, a dentist who also owns property in Downtown Santa Ana, many of the property owners are collecting signatures and tabulating the amounts of assessments of anti-PBID owners. When they get to 50% they will be able to go to the City Council and demand that the PBID be canceled.
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Adam,
"You’re right that the U.S. Constitution mandates any sort of referendum to be a 50 percent (plus one) popular vote.
Whether that popular vote provision can be interpreted as a one dollar one vote method in the case of the PBID is unclear. It’s gone unchallenged with hundreds of PBIDS across the country. And there is no case law that I know of that would set precedent.
The only way to figure that out is to challenge the PBID in court. "
You reported that Santa Ana has a Community Management District set up by the city not as a PBID.
So in this case it would not be a PBID challenge arguing the State PBID formation protocol.
Regardless of what the PBID is there must be some governing documents. (articles of incorporation, bylaws, CC&Rs.... etc.)
A copy of these documents must have been handed to every property owner.
Can someone get a copy and read it?
Please clarify the Management position of Archer
Altstaetter with Downtown Inc.? who authorize him to represents the Properties owners at the city council?
were is Vicky Baxter and the employees rules ?
I believe he was contracted to promote and manage the summer concert series and he appears to be in charge of promoting the East End.
Admin, and Gabacha, are Archer's Gay political Force a group to be ignored or a group to be reckoned with? confronted? made transparent?
Approach the issue with extreme sensitivity. It is a minefield by design. Watch out for boobie traps!
Historically Santa Ana's gay community has been fairly anti-Latino. I hope Archer's group won't be the same.
"I hope Archer’s group won’t be the same"..... Hmmmm
Homosexuals are all same.
Because they have no families they have high disposable income and enjoy upscale living standard.
The Latinos are exact opposite.
Large families low disposable income which negatively impact a community.
So do keep dreaming Zorro.
Long Beach has a Gay Ghetto Fiala. Not just because it sounds Chic. Not all Latinos are multi-breeders.
"Not all (...)" is probably the most stupid argument one can make.
Stanley said:
Homosexuals are all same.
Because they have no families they have high disposable income and enjoy upscale living standard.
The Latinos are exact opposite
Homosexuals are all same.
Because they have no families they have high disposable income and enjoy upscale living standard.
The Latinos are exact opposite
Stan's response to mateo:
Stanley Fiala says:
September 12, 2011 at 4:00 pm
“Not all (…)” is probably the most stupid argument one can make.
YOU ARE THE ONE THAT SAID "HOMOSEXUALS ARE ALL THE SAME" AND " THE LATINOS ARE EXACT OPPOSITE".
Dr. Amalgam stated: [YOU ARE THE ONE THAT SAID “HOMOSEXUALS ARE ALL THE SAME” AND ” THE LATINOS ARE EXACT OPPOSITE”.]
Pleas pay attention!
HOMOSEXUALS ARE ALL THE SAME (blah, blah, blah);
THE LATINOS ARE EXACT OPPOSITE (blah, blah, blah);
Therefore, it is Homosexuals' (blah, blah, blah) vs. Latinos' (blah, blah, blah) which is in the opposition.
Not as you have incorrectly interpreted based on your gravely insufficient ESL: Homosexuals' vs. Latinos' are in the opposition.
The usual stupid Liberal argument is "Not all are same" trying to defeat negativity of stereotyping and profiling and racism and culturism and etc. etc. etc.
As they say: If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck.
So if you are in Santa Ana and you see lot of children playing on the street creating art on the walls you are in Latino neighborhood.
In contrast if you see everything nice and neat and no children around you are in homo neighborhood and homos do not like what Latins do, end of story.
Stan, write better so people do not misinterpret you.
You say Homosexuals are all same because they have no families so they have money and enjoy upscale lifestyle. you say Latinos are exact opposite.
So my ESL issue and that of others misinterprets you as saying:
- All homosexuals because you said "all homosexuals are same" have no families only Latinos do. So Homosexuals are orphans and Bastards according to you.
- All Latinos because we are opposite of Homosexuals have families therefore do not have disposable incomes, so we can not have upscale lifestyles.
I BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE ESL ISSUE, APPARENT IN YOUR WRITING.
Just having some fun with you.