Council Boosts Bid to Create Auto Row

Several owners of car dealerships on Van Nuys Boulevard got a financial boost from the city to continue their efforts to create a bona fide auto row in the center of the Valley.

The City Council agreed to add $29,770 to the budget already established by the dealers and others to create the Van Nuys Auto Row Business Improvement District.

The district--also called the Van Nuys-Magnolia-Oxnard BID--will encompass about 130 parcels along Van Nuys Boulevard between Magnolia Boulevard and Calvert Street, primarily home to car dealerships and auto-related businesses.

“We have to work with property owners and business owners in the area and find out what they want, what their goals and objectives are, and, more importantly, what they are willing to pay for,” said Nancy Hormann, a planning consultant for the Mid-Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber, which will be the lead agency in the effort, would receive the city funds, an amount unused from a failed BID campaign in Brentwood.

Hormann said a group of property owners have been working for about five months to establish the Van Nuys district, hoping to create a unified identity and a destination area for car buyers.

The group raised more than $27,600 to begin the BID planning process and to qualify for the city funds, which will pay for a petition drive and advertising, Hormann said.

Beginning in September, property owners will probably be asked to vote on the issue. To pass, the BID would need approval by more than half of property owners who would pay more than half of the assessment.

Since a BID already is supported by many of the nearly 70 property owners, Hormann said she expects that the group will be able to go to the City Council with a BID plan within about six months.