A business improvement district might be created for downtown Hilo.
In 2020, Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung presented a bill that would establish a business improvement district to allow member businesses to finance infrastructure and other upgrades within its boundaries, but that bill was postponed to allow discussion with affected business owners.
“It wasn’t the right time,” Chung said Thursday.
At a meeting for downtown Hilo property owners, Chung said the bill will be reintroduced at a future County Council meeting, and he and members of the Hilo Business Improvement District Steering Committee pitched attendees on the benefits of forming such BID.
“There are no downsides,” said Ross Wilson, executive director of the Kailua Village Business Improvement District, who explained that the West Hawaii area has been substantially improved since the formation of the district in 2007. “It was the best thing we ever did.”
Before the district’s formation, he said, people were advised to avoid the area entirely, but it is now a well-ranked tourist destination.
“You’re not going to get overnight changes, and it’s going to take time,” Wilson said. “But there’s no graffiti here now.”
The Kailua Village BID is funded through fees paid by member businesses, which pay $1.75 per every $1,000 of their property’s total net taxable value each year. So a property with a net taxable value of $2.3 million would pay a little over $4,000, according to county documents.
Wilson said the Kailua BID hasn’t changed member fees since its inception, although he added that the presence of a few large franchises within the district helps defray the cost for the rest of its members.
Using the funds generated by member fees and other sources such as donations and grants, Wilson said the Kailua BID has been able to contract out services such as landscaping, homeless outreach, security and more.
Chung said the purpose of a BID is to “augment, not replace” vital county services within the area.
Former county Managing Director Roy Takemoto — who Chung said was a driving force behind the 2020 bill — said the possible boundaries of a Hilo BID have not yet been finalized, but it could be divided into three sections, with the largest covering the commercial businesses between Ponahawai Street, Wailuku Drive, Kapiolani Street and the Hilo Bayfront. Smaller sections would cover businesses along Kilauea Avenue up to the Waiakea Stream.
Takemoto said the different sections of the BID could require different fee structures and have different services available to them, but added that how the BID would be managed is entirely up to its members. The Kailua BID is run by a board of 15 voting members.
If formed, a Hilo BID could be used to finally implement the county’s 2018 Downtown Hilo Multimodal Master Plan to improve downtown Hilo by smoothing traffic flow, parking changes, better pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and general beautification efforts, said county planner Natasha Soriano.
Current county Managing Director Lee Lord made an appearance at the meeting to voice the support of Mayor Mitch Roth for the BID concept.
Attendees at Thursday’s meeting seemed generally receptive to the presentation. Karen Renee, owner of a building on Ponahawai Street, said she “doesn’t think it would hurt” to form a BID, adding that downtown Hilo could stand to be improved.
“I am worried it could get bogged down in bureaucracy,” Renee said. “It could spend too much time herding the cats of the community members. But I’m encouraged by the county and the mayor supporting it.”
Chung said the bill will resurface at a County Council meeting in the first week of November.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.