Modesto creates downtown assessment district

Modesto’s downtown is getting a community benefit district in which property owners would pay assessments totaling almost $700,000 annually that district supporters say would pay for improvements to make the city center safer, cleaner and more attractive.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to form the district after balloting among property owners showed 55 percent favored creating the district while 45 percent opposed it. The vote also came after a public hearing in which more than a dozen people addressed the council, with comments ranging from the district being a great opportunity to a misguided attempt to push the homeless out of downtown.

The district got a big boost from local government. Modesto, its former Redevelopment Agency and Stanislaus County provided 14.5 percent of the balloting in support of the district. There are 214 property owners within the district’s boundaries – which are roughly Seventh Street to Needham Street-Downey Avenue and G Street to L Street – but the ballots were not counted one vote per property owner.

Instead, as required by state law, the ballots were weighted based on the assessment. So the more a property owner pays, the more his vote counts. Modesto has the biggest assessment at $45,779 and the biggest vote of 6.56 percent. Stanislaus County is No. 2 with a $36,745 assessment and 5.27 percent of the vote. The former Redevelopment Agency has an $18,853 assessment and 2.7 percent of the vote.

There were 125 ballots cast by property owners, and 49 owners voted for the district and 76 voted against it, according to the city.

Mayor Garrad Marsh said he was pleased with the outcome but said he understands there are those who are not. He said local government is part of downtown and is paying the assessment just like all other property owners within the district.

The impetus to create the district came out of the Downtown Modesto Partnership – a group of property and business owners, downtown supporters and the city and county – to find a way to improve the city center. Some of those involved in the effort include Gallo Center for the Arts CEO Lynn Dickerson, attorney Dave Gianelli and Ryan Swehla with the commercial real estate firm NAI Benchmark.

A nonprofit will be formed to manage the community benefit district. Assessments are expected to go out later this year, and the district is expected to provide services in 2016.

The Modesto Bee will have more on this story later in the day.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 10:55 PM with the headline "Modesto creates downtown assessment district."