Code of the District of Columbia

§ 2–1215.04. Establishment of Business Improvement District.

(a) To establish a BID with respect to any area, the Board of Directors of a nonprofit corporation established under District law for the purpose of forming a BID and seeking to be registered as a BID corporation shall submit an application to the Mayor for review of compliance with all BID criteria described in this section. The Mayor may designate the Department of Small and Local Business Development, or a successor thereto, to perform the review functions described by this section. Each application shall be duly sworn under oath before a notary public who holds a valid license in the District, and shall contain:

(1) A statement setting forth the name and address of the nonprofit corporation seeking registration as a BID corporation; a description by lot, square, and street address of the property of each owner to the extent reasonably ascertainable; and the most recent assessed value of each taxable property located in the proposed BID to the extent reasonably ascertainable from District property tax records or a final determination of the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission for the District of Columbia. The statement must be signed by the owners (or their authorized representatives) who own at least a 51% interest in the most recent assessed value of the taxable properties in the geographic area of the proposed BID as a whole, and at least 25% in number of the individual taxable properties of record in the BID area as a whole. For the purposes hereof, individual taxable properties shall mean properties identified by separate lot and square numbers to the extent reasonably ascertainable from the records of the Office of Taxation and Revenue or Office of Recorder of Deeds; provided, that any property subdivided into separate condominium units shall constitute a single property for the purpose of determining the number of taxable properties referred to in this paragraph; provided further, that such condominium units shall constitute separate properties for purposes of assessing BID charges. Changes in the assessed values occurring after submission of a BID application, whether through regular reassessment, appeals, or otherwise, shall not affect the validity of the BID application to be taken into account in the Mayor’s review of the BID application;

(2) A proposed business plan (“BID plan”) for at least the first 3 years of the initial 5-year term of the BID. The BID plan shall contain, at a minimum, the following:

(A) Specific goals and objectives of the BID consistent with the BID activity as defined in this subchapter, anticipated resources to be used to meet such goals and objectives, and projected timetables for undertaking and completing projects in furtherance of the goals and objectives;

(B) The annual proposed total BID taxes for the BID’s common operations for the BID’s first year of operation and the formula used to determine each owner’s BID tax which shall be based upon either assessed value, square footage, or a uniform fixed tax per building. BID taxes may vary by class and type of property provided that they are applied fairly and equitably to all owners within the BID; and

(C) The maximum amount and the nature of any start-up costs incurred prior to the BID’s registration that the BID plans to reimburse upon its registration;

(3) A tax assessor’s map of the geographic area comprising the BID clearly designating the BID boundaries and each property by street address, lot, and square number to be included within the BID;

(4) A list of the initial members of the Board of the BID, which must satisfy the criteria of § 2-1215.07;

(5) The adopted articles of incorporation and the adopted bylaws of the nonprofit corporation seeking to be registered as the BID corporation which articles of incorporation or bylaws must include:

(A) The names and addresses of the initial directors and a provision stating that the term of the initial directors shall expire at such time as new directors are elected pursuant to § 2-1215.07(b). Such terms shall in no event exceed 120 days after the BID is registered by the Mayor;

(B) The procedures through which the members of the BID corporation shall propose and vote to adopt amendments to the initial bylaws, including the quorum requirements for the method of allocating votes to members for purposes of this vote which shall occur not more than 120 days after the BID is registered by the Mayor; and

(C) The number of votes allocated to each member subject to the requirements of § 2-1215.11(a). The adopted articles of incorporation and the adopted bylaws of the nonprofit corporation may contain any provision not inconsistent with the District nonprofit corporation law or this subchapter;

(6) A list, by street address, lot, and square number, of all taxable property within the proposed BID, including the names and mailing addresses of the record owners to the extent reasonably ascertainable from the real property records of the Office of Recorder of Deeds or the real property tax and assessment records of the Office of Taxation and Revenue;

(7) A list of the names and addresses of all commercial tenants within the BID area, to the extent reasonably ascertainable; and

(8) The name of the bank and the location of the branch at which the BID will establish its bank accounts, which shall be subject to, in addition to the other approvals required by this section, the approval of the CFO.

(b) Repealed.

(c) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as modifying or waiving the District’s right to enact or adjust any District tax, tax rate, fee, or other assessment applicable to categories of persons or businesses that include persons or businesses subject to a BID tax under this subchapter. Nothing in this subchapter shall be used as a rationale for modifying the District’s method of property tax assessment.