Downtown SLO has announced it will not be moving forward with a property-based tax proposal that would affect a portion of Downtown San Luis Obispo.
Downtown SLO CEO Bettina Swigger says the Board of Directors voted Tuesday morning to withdraw from the next steps that were planned to form the PBID.
“While PBIDs have been successfully implemented in more than 100 cities across the state, and more than 1,000 exist in North America, questions have surfaced in our community and this issue has become divisive. Our goal as an organization has always been and must remain to present a unified voice for the businesses in the downtown,” Swigger said.
Downtown SLO estimated the tax would have brought in $400,000 to go toward cleaning streets and providing resources for visitors and the homeless.
“Through our extensive outreach process, we gathered strong support for the formation of a PBID, but we want to ensure that our broader membership and the community at large have a greater understanding of the value of the PBID assessment and its positive impacts,” Swigger said.
She adds that Downtown SLO will be “refocusing our energy to engage with our business community on a shared vision for our downtown.”
Downtown SLO had gathered enough signatures to push the proposal to the next phase. It was set to go before the City Council next week for review.
