Changes could come to downtown Tracy, and we’re eager to see district merchants hop on board with the proposed adjustments.

Tracy Press
Friday, 22 August 2008, written by Press Editorial Board

If you had the choice, would you want downtown Tracy to stay as it is, or would you rather see a more vibrant city center, with more commerce, a better image and greater social value?

We have a hunch there aren’t many people who would choose the first option, given the chance to improve what we have — an historic downtown that’s undergone major streetscape work on 10th Street and Central Avenue, and a downtown business organization that describes itself as stagnant, with a $40,000 operating budget and tiny tax base.

That’s why we’re optimistically watching the work of a city-hired consultant from San Diego, whose company, New City America, has established 50 business/community assessment districts in California.

This week, consultant Marco Li Mandri met with both downtown merchants and property owners and presented four options — to end the existing business improvement district, keep it as is, keep it and raise the fees for business owners, or replace it with a community assessment district.

The last option would have everyone pay based on benefits received, generating funding that could pay for downtown management and what Li Mandri calls "public space development." It would tax residents, churches, city building and business property owners alike in a geographically based revenue system.

The return could be a thriving community for shoppers, restaurant-goers, courthouse-goers, dog-walkers, business owners, coffee-drinkers, workers and residents.

The key will be to convince property owners that they, too, would benefit from the improvements that could result from such an effort. We’d like to see them, along with the merchants, drive this process — for the sake of business and community.