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In February the CDA Board of Directors held a special board retreat to craft our first Core Purpose and Values Statement as an organization. The retreat, which was facilitated by Steve Gibson of Urban Place Consulting Group, allowed the board to think deeply about who we are, who we serve, and what we value as an organization. As urban place managers with a commitment Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we believe that articulating our values is one of the most important steps we can take as an organization and as an industry. Our Board approved the follow statement during our March board meeting:

This purpose and values statement will now help guide our organizational development, our future legislative advocacy work and our educational programs. If you have not articulated your own values as an organization, we highly encourage you to host a similar board and staff retreat to do this important work. 

In the near future you should receive some information about registering for the upcoming DEI Summit, a webinar we are producing in partnership with the International Downtown Association at the end of April. We hope you will be able to join us as we feature some incredible presenters and facilitators who will help us unpack and process the essential work of racial equity and inclusion in urban place management.

Executive Director

Downtown Oakland Association

With the California State Legislature setting policy committee hearings this month, the California Downtown Association has prioritized a number of key bills that are important to our membership. The Board took action to identify three key areas of public policy that will drive our advocacy and lobbying efforts this year. They are: 

As CDA’s ad-hoc legislative committee continues to review and consider legislative proposals that have been introduced this year, the Board has taken the following positions on three bills:  

The “California Tourism Recovery Act” would transfer $45 million to Visit California for implementing their “Calling All Californians” campaign to jumpstart travel when it is safe to do so. COVID-19 has impacted travel and hospitality more than any other industry, confirmed by the report of the Governor’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. Domestic leisure travel offers one of the best immediate opportunities for recovering California’s economy from the pandemic. The California Downtown Association believes it is critically important that the state make investments in attracting tourism back to California to kick-start the state’s economic recovery. The budget appropriation contained in SB 285 will be an impactful down payment to help California recover from the dire economic impact of the coronavirus once it is safe to travel again. 

The bill would provide public agencies with the ability to meet remotely during declared emergencies to ensure the continued delivery of critical public services. The bill would codify portions of the Governor of California’s Executive Orders from March 2020 relating to the Brown Act, which made it safe for local agencies to meet. The bill’s provisions would allow public agencies, including BIDs, to meet and conduct business during a formal state of emergency or a declared local emergency.  

Existing law requires that local agencies post advance notice of the intent to hold a meeting along with posting the agenda of planned meetings. This bill does not eliminate that responsibility; instead, it allows local agencies to fulfill this requirement without physically posting these notices in areas that may have been rendered unsafe due to an emergency. This bill would codify the flexibility afforded to BIDs by the Governor’s existing Executive Order also ensure that the public is guaranteed the opportunity to observe agency meetings and the opportunity to provide public comment. 

Unfortunately, AB 339 seeks to add a significant number of unfunded mandates on local public agencies, including BIDs, by requiring public agencies to provide both call-in and internet-based options for participation – in addition to in-person options, for members of the public to attend and comment during any public meeting. The measure further requires extensive translation services in real-time during public meetings and extensive and technical meeting materials, additionally burdening local agencies with significant costs. Imposing these mandated costs on local agencies under particularly challenging fiscal circumstances coupled with the overwhelming practical challenges associated with implementing such a measure makes us deeply concerned about local agencies’ ability to effectively conduct the people’s business. Under this bill, there would be no state reimbursement for these local mandates. BIDs take very seriously their obligations under the Brown Act to operate transparently and provide opportunities for members of the public to participate. Unfortunately, the mandates outlined in this bill would create more burdens on already struggling public agencies and could actually do more to hinder the public process than increase in participation.

Bryant Government Affairs

March 2021 Legislative Update

The Press-Enterprise

COVID-19 hammered the nation’s economy in 2020, but downtown Los Angeles still saw significant construction activity and the 10 largest projects underway have a combined value...

LAist

Free bus and train trips on Los Angeles County's regional transit system could become a reality for many riders starting with a pilot program next year.

Oaklandside

The City Council voted unanimously to look into allowing fourplexes citywide and removing long-standing laws that officials called “exclusionary.”

Streetsblog California

It's a plan, a framework, a guide - but still, it's a big deal.

Cities Today

The pandemic has exacerbated last-mile delivery issues that have plagued cities in recent years, including air pollution and congested roadways, bike lanes and curbsides.

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