California Apparel News

The spat over the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District (BID) is over.

On June 6, the Los Angeles City Council’s Economic Development Committee cleared the way for the existing Fashion District BID to proceed with renewing its contract with property owners for the next five years.

The Fashion District BID had been challenged by the proposed Apparel District Business Improvement District (BID), which had attempted to sway Fashion District tenants into voting for a new organization. The Apparel District group, led by Santee Alley property owners Len and Selma Fisch, had claimed the existing BID did not give property owners enough control over how money was spent in the district or how its board members were elected.

The Fashion District BID provides security and clean-up services for the 82-block downtown area and markets the district to consumers and the trade.

“We made some additional changes in our bylaws, and these were deemed to be satisfactory,” said Fashion District BID Executive Director Kent Smith.

The two sides arbitrated their differences with the help of City Councilwoman Jan Perry.

One of the changes within the Fashion District BID is a measure that will allow property owners to elect the district’s board members rather than having the board elect its own members. Smith said that in the past there were not enough candidates to warrant district-wide elections for board members, who were community volunteers.

“The victory was won by the property owners at large,” said Len Fisch, the main organizer of the proposed Apparel District BID. “We now have representation for our tax-assessed dollars and will have open and unfettered elections. This is what we wanted to achieve all along.”

As a result of the Economic Development Committee’s June 6 action, the Apparel District BID will drop its quest to be put on a district ballot. The city expects to put the existing Fashion District BID renewal up for vote later this month before it is ratified by the City Council next month.

The renewal would expand the district to 90 blocks, adding a stretch of businesses on Crocker Street.

“This show of support from the City Council is strong evidence that the BID is working,” said Barry Gold, chairman of the Fashion District BID board, in a statement. “It shows the BID’s core services of making the district clean, safe, and creating a positive image of the district is satisfactory to the majority of property owners who fund these very successful programs.”

The Fashion District BID was the first business improvement district to be established in Los Angeles. It was launched in 1996 and renewed in 1998 for a five-year term. —Robert McAllister