Established in August 2007 and managed by the San Jose Downtown Association, the Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) (map) provides a way to help pay for downtown cleaning and beautification projects. These include popular Groundwerx cleaning and ambassadors programs and lighting up the Circle of Palms and the micro-retail space MOMENT at Market & San Pedro Square garage.
Property owners within the district have two opportunities to vote on the proposed services and boundaries, which would start services July 1, 2022. First, property owners receive a petition and draft management plan that outlines the boundaries, services and costs of the proposed district. The petition requires a majority vote to proceed to the ballot. If the petition is successful, ballots are then provided to property owners with anticipated assessment rates for their parcel(s) for the first year of the district. If the ballot phase of the process receives a majority vote from owners, the City Council can then ratify the district renewal.
As of May 2022, the San Jose Downtown Property Owners Association (SJDPOA) has entered the ballot phase of the renewal process, which means it is property owners’ final opportunity to vote for the new 10-year district which includes boundary changes, new services and an expansion of the popular Groundwerx services.
Ballots have been mailed directly to property owners from the Office of the City Clerk. Below is an image of the ballot document.
Ballots must be received by the Office of the City Clerk no later than 1:30 p.m. on June 7, 2022. Ballots can be mailed via USPS, and should be sent in no later than June 1. Ballots can be hand delivered to the Office of the City Clerk at the City Clerk’s office at 200 E Santa Clara Street, San José, California by the June 7 deadline.
For questions on the ballot document, please contact Thomas Borden, City of San Jose Department of Public Works, (408) 535-6831.
For questions about the PBID renewal process, proposed service additions and changes, please contact:
Evergreen Services
These services are the PBID’s bread and butter, and will continue on with the new district. Many of the services listed below will have increased staffing and funding, allowing for greater capacity to serve downtown.
New and Bolstered Services
The new district will be focused on bolstering our successful services like the Groundwerx Clean and Safe Program, focusing on innovation and increased communications, and allowing for flexibility as the downtown grows over the next decade. This includes:
Jeff Arrillaga, Urban Community
Brian Bates, Community Representative
Nicolle Burnham, City of San Jose
Sara de la Riva, Rubicon Point Partners
Sheela Jivan, Google
Ted McMahon, Bayview Development
John Ristow, PBID Board Member, City of San Jose
Emily Ruvalcaba, SJDA Board Member, Bridge Bank
John Tortora, Community Member
Blage Zelalich, PBID Board Member, City of San Jose
President
Chris Freise, REDCO Development
Vice President
Blage Zelalich, City of San Jose
Treasurer
Ted McMahon, Bayview Development
Secretary
Dan Phan, Original Gravity, Paper Plane and MINIBOSS (tenant representative)
Benjamin Egge, Essex Property Trust
Eric Kline, Adobe
Christy Mabry, SWENSON
John Ristow, City of San Jose
Sara de la Riva, Rubicon Point Partners
Wolfram Schneider, Resident Representative
John Southwell, Marriott San Jose