Meeting Scheduled on Business District

Following in the footsteps of trendy Old Town Pasadena, Sherman Oaks merchants and property owners will discuss the possible creation of a Business Improvement District at a Wednesday meeting hosted by City Councilman Mike Feuer.

“The purpose of the meeting is to gauge the level of support for a BID, to generate additional support and to let the business community know about” the potential district, said Sharon Mayer, Feuer’s chief field deputy for the Valley.

Business Improvement Districts--in which business or property owners assess themselves fees to pay for sprucing up commercial corridors--are viewed by many as an impetus to economic revival, such as that seen in Old Town Pasadena.

In April, the City Council allotted $450,000 in federal money for six communities--Sherman Oaks among them--to start the BID ball rolling. Most if not all of Sherman Oaks’ $75,000 is earmarked for consultants’ fees associated with studying the creation of a such a district.

Generally, BIDS work as follows: Owners of half the property within the district’s boundary agree to assess themselves a monthly fee for a certain number of years, based on square footage. For example, the property owners could tax themselves a penny per square foot monthly for 15 years. Hypothetically, the owner of a 3,000-square-foot property on Ventura Boulevard would be assessed $30 monthly for the duration.

In return, a BID board of directors--a panel of area property owners--would spend the money on making the area more appealing to shoppers by, say, landscaping, painting, adding benches and street lights, upping security or starting an area marketing campaign.

Wednesday’s meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m. at the Sherman Oaks Galleria community room, on the ground floor between Weebies and Goya’s, 15301 Ventura Blvd. For details, call Feuer’s Valley office at (818) 756-8083.