Tenafly — It could enhance your quality of life, it could bring in more money and it could increase property values – if the Borough council decides to establish a special improvement district (SID) plan in downtown Tenafly.
During a special public meeting May 6, Mark Lohbauer from the JGSC Group, LLC, presented the findings and recommendations of the feasibility study conducted in regard to the possible establishment of an SID to assist with revitalization and economic efforts in Tenafly. They prepared a five-year plan and budget based primarily on the results from surveys by 24 businesses downtown.
There are approximately 75 SIDs in New Jersey including six in Jersey City, all with the same basic goal in mind – stimulate shopping to increase business and improve commerce.
According to the JGSC Group, the purpose of the feasibility study is to determine if there’s a consensus of problems, determine if those problems can be addressed by an SID, determine the level of funding necessary to address problems and comply with state law.
Based on the business surveys, Lohbauer separated the main issues of concern into seven categories – retail mix, parking, infrastructure, appearance, operations, management and marketing – each of which has its own areas to improve on.
For five of those areas, Lohbauer suggested retaining consultants and engineers to address the issues including an economic consultant to analyze the market for sustainable retail categories and a parking engineer to analyze parking usage and needs downtown.
He elaborated on appearance and operations. The main issues with the appearance of downtown were poor building maintenance and the need for more appealing facades, including signs and displays. The recommendation was the need for an enforceable commercial design standard coupled with incentives and enforcement.
Businesses also had concerns with several issues of operations including inconsistent evening and weekend store hours, lack of competition with mall hours and stores being dark after hours. To curb these issues, Lohbauer suggested trial night promotions and a "lights on" campaign.
There are a number of benefits that could come from an SID including a more attractive downtown and a better quality of life but with that comes the issue of funding.
While the Borough applied for and received a $10,000 "Improvement District Challenge Grant," there’s still a lot of money to be raised.
According to the sample budget created, the first-year cost of the SID is $354,000 and as Planning Board chairman James Sellinger put it, "It’s always a little scary in a down market to raise taxes."
But according to Councilman Jon Warms, he expects to be eligible for a number of grants, which could help curb taxes.
"The improvement district is intended for the benefit of the businesses so typically it is funded, at least in part by an assessment on commercial property owners."
Warms also commented on the benefit that this would have to businesses when issues arose.
"This gives us more or less one voice to speak for the businesses – whether it’s speaking to the council or speaking to the Borough or speaking to the public…I think by and large it’s a good structure and it will help the business community and also the Borough."
Lohbauer said that they find an SID to be feasible and recommend passage of an ordinance to create an SID to be governed by a board including one member of the Borough Council and six other members including a variety of property owners, tenants and homeowners.
Sellinger said he was invited because it’s important for the Planning Board as well as other groups in town to be a part of the process.
"I think Tenafly has a lot to offer and I think it’s important for retail service companies and landlords, who have a positive result in this, to be involved."
Warms said the first step would be to authorize the SID and the nature of the funding, which includes devising a budget that needs to be approved.
Warms said if an ordinance was to be passed, he would not expect it to be passed before July.
E-mail: Andrews@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6723
