Santa Ana Votes to Dissolve Its Downtown Business Improvement District

The Santa Ana City Council unanimously voted last week to dissolve its Downtown Business Improvement District, to which local merchants have been required to pay annual fees—on top of business taxes—after an outcry from some of the area’s merchants.
The area’s improvement district, known as a BID, was started in 1984 to fund promotions and for landscaping and maintenance, according to city officials.
But merchants claim a management group that has run the BID since 2013 has overlooked the area’s smaller businesses in favor of promoting nightlife such as clubs and expensive restaurants.
Some have said such is especially damaging to their businesses on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing OC Streetcar construction, which has deterred customers from coming to the area….

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