The Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA), which manages Downtown’s Property-Based Business Improvement District (PBID), has hit the ground running after receiving the go-ahead to continue and improve upon its PBID duties for ten more years; In addition to increasing the size of its Clean and Safe Teams, DLBA has already established enhanced pressure washing schedules, Safety Ambassador patrols, and porter services in the expanded PBID.
The newly approved PBID Management Plan, which took effect on January 1, also outlines plans for DLBA to add a future Homeless Outreach Coordinator and Business Navigator to its staff, and to implement new economic recovery programs.
Council members voted 8-0 during last July to certify the Downtown PBID after a public hearing which featured the official tabulation and certification of mail-in ballot votes from Downtown commercial and residential property owners that resulted in 78.8 percent in favor of the renewal.
“This is a huge win for the entire Downtown Long Beach community,” then DLBA Board Chair Loara Cadavona said at the time. “We deeply appreciate the Downtown property owners and City Council for the votes of confidence in us to continue management of the district.”
The creation of a Homeless Outreach Coordinator position puts DLBA in line with Long Beach’s recent emergency declaration on homelessness. The declaration, which was given the City Council’s unanimous approval in mid-January, has immediately resulted in new outreach programs such as the Mobile Access Center, a van that will bring basic medical care and social services to unhoused individuals.
Austin Metoyer, DLBA President and CEO, noted that the new PBID Management plan includes supplemental resources for addressing Downtown’s unhoused population, as well as several new important initiatives centered around economic recovery and quality of life.
DLBA would like to thank the Downtown community members, residents, and commercial property owners who have engaged with us and helped support a robust and actionable PBID Management Plan. The plan leverages DLBA’s long history of responding to community needs and working together to fulfill the mission to cultivate, preserve, and promote a healthy, safe, and prosperous Downtown for all.