Scan of NID Services and Benefits

Our friend Stephanie over at the Northside Leadership Conference put together this handy little handout to share with her community.  It tidily lists the many services and benefits that NID has to offer.

Everything you wanted to know about BIDs, but were afraid to ask

I’m afraid to read the blog, ”Larry Houstoun’s Urban Public Spaces & Business Improvement Districts,” because it’s just going to show me how much I don’t know about BIDs!  This looks to be an incredible resource of articles from an expert in the field.  Check it out if you dare . . .

Pennsylvania NID Legislation

Link to PA’s Neighborhood Improvement District Act  (Act 130 of 2000, PL 949).  For those of you who are interested in our neighbor’s enabling legislation, you can find New Jersey’s right here.

Pittsburgh Advocacy / City Council Contact List

Because City Council is so instrumental in the formation of NIDs in the City of Pittsburgh, here is a simple contact list  of Council Members.  What we like about this list is that it includes facebook pages, twitter feeds and other social media, so you could, for example, “friend” your Councilperson and get off to a good start in engaging them in your NID effort!

Pittsburgh NID Planning Timeline

If you’re part of a NID planning effort in Pittsburgh, give yourself at least two years from start to finish.  To help you get started, we’ve produced a one-pager that outlines some key planning objectives, whom to involve, what outcomes to strive for and when to move on to the next step.  Detailed information on the Pittsburgh legislative process in also included.

RFPs for NID Consultants

These two RFP processes are closed, and consultants have been selected; but for those of you who have yet to start the proposal process, we’re keeping two local RFPs on this site available for download so you can start with a good example document.  Click here for SSLDC’s RFP and right here for MWCDC’s.

PA Advocacy / Legislative Contact List

Click here for a downloadable spreadsheet of Pennsylvania legislators.  Information includes district and Capitol contact data, FB pages, Committee membership and more.

Perspectives on Philadelphia-area BIDs

Link to several pieces from the Spring 2010 Drexel University Law review for some interesting analyses of Business Improvement Districts.

Creating a Neighborhood Improvement District

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has  two laws for creating special assessment districts, commonly known as Business Improvement Districts, or BIDs. In Pennsylvania, BID legislation is focused on districts that are primarily commercial. But another law permits the establishment of districts in neighborhoods, where there may be substantial residential properties. These districts are called Neighborhood Improvement Districts, or NIDs.

NIDs are special assessment districts enabled by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Because they assess commercial and residential property, and because the funds can be used in a flexible fashion, they can be an extremely effective tool for neighborhood revitalization. Part I of this document, in a downloadable .pdf format, explains what a NID is, why it is so useful, and how to go about forming one.

Fundraising for Business District Improvements

Not every business or commercial district is able or willing to support the creation and operation of a NID. There are many other ways to generate support for revitalization projects, including memberships, festivals and events, and contracts for service. Part II outlines a number of opportunities suitable for business district management organizations to expand their ability to provide worthwhile benefits to local businesses. This section also includes links to valuable websites. Both this section and the previous section are available as downloadable pdfs.