Letter — Eric B. Larson, Downtown Detroit Partnership, on the Business Improvement Zone Act (May 15, 2023)

Summary

Eric B. Larson, Chief Executive Officer of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, Inc., wrote to Rep. Jason Hoskins, Committee Chair, in a letter dated May 15, 2023. The letter urges amending the Business Improvement Zone Act (Chapter 2 of the Principal Shopping District Act) to restore proportionate voting, a provision it says was removed from the Act in June 2020 without input from communities. It states that the Downtown Detroit BIZ, established in 2014, must be reauthorized before the current 10-year term expires in early 2024. It says the BIZ Act has enabled the Downtown Detroit business community to contribute about $45 Million to date.

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Full text

May 15, 2023


Rep. Jason Hoskins
Committee Chair, Economic Development and Small Business
JasonHoskins@house.mi.gov


RE: Support for House Bill 164 and Request to Expedite Approval with Immediate Effect

Representative Hoskins:

The Downtown Detroit Partnership, Inc. (DDP), a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to serving Detroit and its
Downtown neighborhood since 1922, manages the daily operations of the Downtown Detroit
Business Improvement Zone (BIZ) on behalf of the BIZ board of directors, a diverse group of
property owners, small businesses, and other community leaders appointed by their peers. Since

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, we support House Bill
4454 and urge you to act swiftly, amending the Business Improvement Zone Act (Chapter 2 of
the Principal Shopping District Act) to restore proportionate voting, a provision that was removed from
the Act in June 2020 without input from communities who use the tool. Proportionate voting
enables proportionate assessments, meaning large property owners pay more and small property
owners pay less – an equitable distribution of costs and benefits. Smaller property owners in our
community have expressed that being part of the BIZ has helped amplify their voices.

Established in 2014, the Downtown Detroit BIZ must be reauthorized before the current 10-year
term expires in early 2024. The BIZ Act has enabled the Downtown Detroit business community to
contribute about $45 Million to date to fund our commitment to a Downtown that is clean, safe, and
inviting. The BIZ augments city services and enhances the public realm, caring for our Downtown to a
higher standard of excellence that a municipal budget cannot afford. It also fosters community amongst
Downtown business and property owners, small and large.

In addition to Downtown’s reauthorization, we have two proposed Business Improvement Zones in our
community that have strong support but are stalled until the BIZ Act is corrected. The Act allows
the Downtown BIZ program to be leveraged to efficiently provide services in other neighborhoods.
The positive impact of a Business Improvement Zone is exponential.

We urge the Michigan Legislature to move the proposed legislation expeditiously so that we can
proceed with a reauthorization vote, making way for another decade of private investment for
the benefit of the community at no cost to the local government.

Sincerely,




Eric B. Larson, Chief Executive Officer

CC:    Representative Tyrone Carter, TyroneCarter@house.mi.gov
       Elaine Kupiec, Committee Clerk, ekupiec@house.mi.gov



1000 Woodward Avenue, Ste 380, Detroit, Michigan 48226                  downtowndetroit.org
1000 Woodward Avenue, Ste 380, Detroit, Michigan 48226   downtowndetroit.org


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