Modesto’s downtown property owners to vote on assessment district

Property owners will vote on whether they want to pay an annual assessment to make downtown Modesto cleaner, more attractive and safer.

The City Council last week declared its intent to form the Downtown Modesto Community Benefit District, mail ballots to property owners within the proposed district and hold an Aug. 11 public hearing to determine whether to create it.

The ballots are not counted based on one vote per property owner. Instead, they are weighted based on how much of an assessment a property owner would pay. The bigger the assessment, the more weight given to the vote. The assessments are based on how much property – as measured by lot size, building square footage and how much property fronts the street – someone owns.

The ballots are counted that way because of Proposition 218, a 1996 statewide initiative that requires property owners’ consent for raising certain fees and assessments. The boundaries for the proposed district encompass Seventh Street to Needham Street-Downey Avenue and G Street to L Street. All property owners within the district would pay the annual assessment, including government and nonprofits.

The management report for the proposal identifies 318 parcels owned by 214 property owners within the district. The annual assessments would be $700,000 in the first year. Modesto, its former redevelopment agency and Stanislaus County would pay more than 15 percent of the assessments. That also gives them more than 15 percent of the vote to form the district.

Downtown Planning Manager Josh Bridegroom said the project’s consultant – Marco Li Mandri with New City America – said it is typical for government to be the largest property owner. He added that while the city and county signed the petition to bring this to a vote, private property owners made up the overwhelming majority of the petition signers.

Bridegroom said this effort has been led by business and property owners and downtown advocates with an assist from the city. The cost of forming the district is estimated at $70,000. Bridegroom said the city has provided about $32,000 of that, with the balance being raised by district proponents. He said the city and the contributors would be paid back by the district if it is formed.

Community benefit districts are used elsewhere in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Property owners in Turlock, Stockton and Tracy have formed them or similar assessment districts. The services provided by the district augment and do not replace services provided by local government.

The Modesto district is looking at providing such services as steam-cleaning sidewalks, sweeping gutters, providing private security and promoting downtown. The goal is to make it a more inviting place to encourage more visitors and investment. The district would be for 15 years, and the assessments could increase by as much as 5 percent annually.

If the council forms the district at the Aug. 11 hearing, the assessments would go on tax bills due in December and April. Bridegroom said the district would start providing services in 2016. But other steps need to take place, such as creating a nonprofit to manage the district.

Information about this proposal – including a map of the district and a list of first-year assessments by assessor’s parcel number – is available by going to www.modestogov.com/ccl/agendas. Click on June 23 on the calendar to access the council agenda. Then click on the link for the first agenda and the link for agenda item No. 8.

In other action, the council:

▪ Approved a residential turf-replacement program in which homeowners can receive 50 cents for each square foot of grass they remove, up to $500 for 1,000 square feet. They need to replace the grass with drought-tolerant plants, rocks and other landscaping that uses little or no water. The program does not apply to homeowners who already have replaced their lawns. The program’s details are available at www.modestogov.com.

▪ Extended a temporary ban on the opening of new massage and bodywork businesses and the expansion and relocation of existing ones for an additional 10 months and 15 days. The ban was enacted May 12 so city officials could write an ordinance to crack down on massage parlors and spas that are fronts for prostitution and human trafficking.

The ban is not expected to last the 10 months and 15 days. City Attorney Adam Lindgren expects an ordinance will come before the council in late summer. The council modified the ban in response to criticism from legitimate certified massage therapists and massage and bodywork business owners. For instance, it no longer applies to spas in which massage and bodywork make up less than half of the spa’s square footage, and to certified massage therapists seeking a business license to work in an existing business.

This story was originally published June 28, 2015 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Modesto’s downtown property owners to vote on assessment district."