Business Improvement District

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs ) (also field of innovation, real estate and site communities (ISG ), Inner-city business districts ( INGE ), Partnerships for attractiveness City, services and tourism sectors (PACT ) ) are spatially well-defined areas in which the landowners and try trader's own advantage, to improve the site quality by measures which are financed by the emergence of a self-imposed and collected a limited time delivery. Create the legal basis for the BIDs BID laws of the countries.

The aim of BIDs is to maintain the value of the property. To this end, the public space surrounding it is upgraded, and there are additional marketing and services provided.

The central principle of BIDs is the ownership of local actors. Of them mostly goes from the initiative to establish BIDs. They organize an often lasted several years, decision-making process in which they agree on a set of measures and financial concept and to a PTA, implement the concept during a multi-year BID term.

This involves measures that go beyond the services provided by local services.

The funding is provided by the landowners of the BID district ( in Saxony and Schleswig -Holstein in some cases traders ). In a few cases, the municipality makes co-financing.

• 4.1 Federal countries with a statutory basis

Origin

The idea of ​​BIDs comes from North America ( there also: Business Improvement Area, Business Revitalization Zone); the term " Business Improvement District " or " BID " is also widely used in Germany.

BIDs have been developed in North American inner cities response to the growing competition from shopping centers. One of the advantages of shopping centers over the growing inner cities is that they have a central management system that ensures a healthy retail structure, a clean and uniform appearance maintains and coordinates promotional activities of the tenants. These characteristics of shopping centers should reach by BIDs also inner cities. The first BID was established in 1970 in Toronto (Canada): Bloor West Village is now regarded as one of the BID success stories.

Due to their success in North America they are also valid in Germany as a promising urban development concept. The first BID in Germany was requested in February 2005 in Hamburg -Bergedorf, approved and now successfully implemented. Another prominent example is the German Neuer Wall in Hamburg.

Content Basics

The initiative for the establishment of BIDs comes mostly from property owners or traders of a neighborhood. You agree on a set of measures and financing concept for a spatially distinct, mostly inner-city areas and on a carrier task which converts the concept during a multi-year BID term. A BID is concluded by a democratic decision-making procedures. This is necessary because in a BID all land owners are obliged to pay a BID levy, which is collected by the city and passed on to the BID PTAs. The establishment of BIDs sees the Hamburg BID law, which inspired the other German BID - laws, three stages: first, the application for the establishment of a BID by the PTA, the in the consent of the owners of 15 percent BID area lying land requires whose area also comprises at least 15 percent of the total land area of the BID area; with the application of PTAs must already provide a set of measures and financing concept as well as a statement of the duration of the BID; 2 the interpretation of the application documents for over a month by the district office; in time have the landowner the right to the establishment of a BID to disagree. If the owners of more than one -third of the located in the BID area of land or more than one -third of the located in the BID area Land area contradict the BID can not be established; 3 the examination of the application documents by the district office.

Typical fields of action, measures for environment improvement, such as the redesign and maintenance of public spaces, removal of graffiti and, improve the cleanliness. In many BIDs also additional marketing measures are implemented.

The BID district usually includes about 50 - to 100 plots. The BID budget BIDs in Germany is between 150,000 euros and 6 million euros. In New York City the project volumes partially exceed 11 million U.S. $. However, in the U.S. the average investment amounts are usually lower. In New York City the project volumes partially exceed 11 million U.S. $. However, in the U.S. the average investment amounts are usually lower.

A BID is a typical example of a public-private partnership, work together in public legislative power and private initiative. By law legitimized extension of responsibility for the neighborhood development of local private actors BIDs can be viewed as a paradigm for new instruments of urban governance, which currently gain under the model of the entrepreneurial city politics in importance worldwide.

Benefits

• BIDs exclude the possibility for freeloaders to enrich themselves without ( costs ) financial contribution to the success of marketing efforts or measures to improve the business environment.
• Due to the legal basis and the involvement of registered eligible municipalities, a large financial security.
• For longer-term measures opportunities opened up by financing security.
• In functioning business districts, the status quo backed up or the situation be improved.

Criticism

Critics point to the danger that BIDs could simply displace problems from the public attention of the business streets in urban fringe locations. On the other hand, there is a danger that the local authorities turn to position itself as a so-called free-riders and no longer able to fulfill adequately their actual interest in public space. A growing divergence in the different neighborhoods in German cities could be the result of BIDs. Here are a social and societal acceptable concept in the future based on European values ​​must establish ( model of the European city and its indivisibility ).

The way to BID

For the realization of BIDs a national legal basis is required. She is currently in Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, North Rhine -Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony and Schleswig -Holstein.

The law requires each process path before establishing a BID. Before performing a quorum applying to the competent local authority is required. You need corresponding preparatory work, in particular the determination of measures, financing scope, coverage and support of the task to perform. A public discussion before applying for help in assessing the chances of approval by consensus quorum. The period before the application is different, but usually several months to years. Following a request for information to all finds a landowner or tenant instead. Is there a maximum limit of contradictions not exceeded (for example in Hamburg 33%), the BID can set up by statute and the PTAs are entrusted with the operation took place.

Legal framework

The Building Code 2007 amendment resulted in a § 171 f Building Code. According to state law areas can be defined, in cases where conducted in private responsibility location-based measures for on the basis of a procedure agreed with the planning objectives of the community concept of strengthening or development of areas of inner cities, district centers, residential areas and commercial centers as well as other urban development areas relevant serve. To finance the measures and equitable distribution of the cost it would involve arrangements can be made by state law. The falling within the legislative competence of the federal land law so that now contains a saving clause in favor of countries. What is the legal situation regarding the compulsory levy in the coming months will claim in the courts, is to be expected. On August 27, 2010 by the Hamburg Higher Administrative Court in the first appeal judgments about Business Improvement Districts like been, has been rejected in a lawsuit against the Hamburg Business Improvement District. An appeal to the Federal Administrative Court has, however, permitted.

States with a statutory basis

• Bremen Bremisches law to strengthen retail and service centers, July 2006
• Hamburg Act to strengthen the retail and service centers on 28 December 2004 ( PDF, 80 kB), since 2007 "Act to strengthen the retail, service and commercial centers ", as last amended in 2013 by the Hamburg Parliament ( Citizenship printed matter 20 / 7357 )
• Hesse Hesse: Act on Strengthening of the central business districts ( INGE ) of 21 December 2005
• Nordrhein-Westfalen ( Law on real estate and location Communities ( ISGG ), June 2008)
• Saarland (Act for the creation of alliances for innovation and services ( BIDG ), December 2007)
• Saxony Saxon law for revitalizing urban retail and service centers, June 2012
• Schleswig -Holstein law concerning the establishment of partnerships for the attractiveness of City, services and tourism sectors ( PACT Act) of 13 July 2006 ( PDF, 52 kB)
• Law No 1630 on the creation of alliances for investment and service ( BIDG ) of 26 September 2007

All laws basics are documented with background materials and information on the Internet portal of the HCU Hamburg: Urban Improvement Districts

Development of the model

In the professional community in Germany, the transfer of the BID model is discussed in other urban areas for some time. In this context, the term of the Housing Improvement Districts (HID ) was used for the application of the model in residential areas. Hamburg presented in autumn 2007 as the first state on the basis of § 171 f Building Code (see above) a bill and adopted on 20 November 2007, the " Act to Strengthen residential neighborhoods by private initiatives," in the December 1, 2007 force entered. The first HID in Germany was founded in 2012 in Steilshoop in Hamburg- Wandsbek.

Other regularly updated information about the BID and the technical discussions on private initiatives in urban development with a variety of information sources and literature available on the Internet portal www.urban -improvement - districts.de HafenCity University.