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The Launch of the Northampton BID
The formation of a Business Improvement District for Downtown Northampton took a significant step forward on March 5. Northampton’s City Council took the first of two votes to approve the BID. The second and final vote may occur at their next meeting on Thursday, March 19.
The Downtown Steering Committee leading the formation of a Downtown Northampton Business Improvement District (BID) submitted its petition to the City in December with the 300+ signatures required by the legislation. A petition campaign began in October 2007 to demonstrate property owner support of the BID. 60% of the property owners in the district must sign the petition in order to establish it.. On Thursday, January 15 the Northampton City Council opened a public hearing to invite public input. After 8 hours of comments from a broad cross section of the community and viewpoints, the Council closed the public hearing on Thursday, February 19.
Led by the Downtown Steering Committee, the effort to create a BID reflects the hard work of many downtown property and business owners. Through an extensive public outreach process, the committee developed a business plan for vital downtown services and improvements that will become the strategy once the BID is formed. Community forums, focus groups, surveys and individual conversations held over two years, determined the areas of greatest need to help downtown Northampton sustain its prominence. The BID petition process, started in October 2007, achieved widespread support from large and small commercial property owners, businesses, institutions, government, and residents who share the belief that the BID is a real, responsive plan that will accomplish more collectively than any single property owner can achieve on their own.
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To view the BID Plan,
click here
Members of the BID Steering Committee
The Committee believes it’s time for Downtown property owners and businesses to come together and boldly take charge of their success. A BID is the best opportunity for a promising, vital Downtown Northampton.
What is a BID?
A BID is a contiguous geographic area in which property owners vote to initiate, manage, and finance supplemental services above and beyond the City’s services in their district. For Northampton, the purpose of the BID is to return Downtown Northampton to a vital visitor destination that successfully competes as an entertainment, restaurant, and shopping district.
