2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 2 - Government Administration › Chapter 12 - Business and Economic Development › Subchapter VIII - Business Improvement Districts › Part A - General › § 2–1215.04. Establishment of Business Improvement District

§ 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.
(May 29, 1996, D.C. Law 11-134, § 4, 43 DCR 1684; renumbered as § 5, Oct. 8, 1997, D.C. Law 12-26, § 2, 44 DCR 4320; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-264, § 11(a), 46 DCR 2118; Apr. 27, 1999, D.C. Law 12-269, § 2, 46 DCR 1108; Apr. 3, 2001, D.C. Law 13-213, § 2(a), 47 DCR 9467; Oct. 1, 2002, D.C. Law 14-183, § 2(a), 49 DCR 6056; Oct. 17, 2002, D.C. Law 14-198, § 2, 49 DCR 7644; Apr. 2, 2003, D.C. Law 14-268, § 2, 50 DCR 428; Mar. 13, 2004, D.C. Law 15-105, § 7, 51 DCR 881; Mar. 17, 2005, D.C. Law 15-257, § 2(c), 52 DCR 1161; Mar. 8, 2006, D.C. Law 16-56, § 2(a), 53 DCR 10; Apr. 7, 2006, D.C. Law 16-91, § 140(b), (d), 52 DCR 10637; Mar. 8, 2007, D.C. Law 16-245, § 2(b), 54 DCR 615; Oct. 18, 2007, D.C. Law 17-27, § 2(b), 54 DCR 8020; Dec. 24, 2009, D.C. Law 18-99, § 2(a), 56 DCR 8707; Apr. 8, 2011, D.C. Law 18-363, § 3(d)(1), 58 DCR 963; Sept. 9, 2014, D.C. Law 20-136, § 2(b), 61 DCR 6778; Feb. 26, 2015, D.C. Law 20-161, § 2(d), 61 DCR 10741.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-2274.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 2-1215.05, § 2-1215.06, § 2-1215.15, § 2-1215.51, § 2-1215.57, § 2-1215.58, and § 2-1215.59.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-213 rewrote subsec. (b) which prior thereto read:
“(b) With respect to areas outside the central employment area and Georgetown, a BID may be established if the requirements of subsection (a)(2)-(8) of this section are met, if the statement is signed by at least 51% of the number of commercial tenants occupying nonexempt real properties in the geographic area of the proposed BID, and if owners who own at least 51% of the interest in the assessed value of the commercial properties within the proposed BID area and owners who own at least 51% of the individual properties within the proposed BID area agree to do so.”
D.C. Law 14-183 added subsec. (c-1).
D.C. Law 14-198, in subsec. (c), substituted “Fourteen” for “Twelve” in pars. (1), (2), and (4), and substituted “Fifty” for “Sixty” in par. (3).
D.C. Law 14-268 added subsec. (e-2).
D.C. Law 15-105 validated previously made technical corrections.
D.C. Law 15-257 rewrote the section.
D.C. Law 16-56, in subsec. (b), substituted “Mount Vernon Triangle, or Adams Morgan” for “or Mount Vernon Triangle”.
D.C. Law 16-91 made a technical change in the enacting clause of D.C. Law 15-257 which resulted in no change in text and, in subpar. (a)(5)(C), validated previously made technical corrections.
D.C. Law 16-245 substituted “Adams Morgan, or NoMa” for “or Adams Morgan”.
D.C. Law 17-27, in subsec. (b), substituted “NoMa, or Capitol Riverfront” for “or NoMa”.
D.C. Law 18-99, in subsec. (b), substituted “Capital Riverfront, or Anacostia” for “or Capital Riverfront”.
D.C. Law 18-363, in subsec. (a)(1), substituted “Real Property Tax Appeals Commission for the District of Columbia” for “District’s Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals”.
The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-136 added “or Southwest” in (b).
The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-161 substituted “Department of Small and Local Business Development, or a successor thereto” for “Deputy City Administrator for Business Services and Economic Development” in the introductory language of (a); in (a)(1), substituted “taxable properties” for “nonexempt real properties” and “nonexempt properties,” and substituted “assessing BID” for “assessing and levying any BID”; substituted “taxable property” for “nonexempt real property” in (a)(1) and (a)(6); and repealed (b).
Expiration of Law
Expiration of Law 11-134
See Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-1215.01.
Emergency Legislation
For temporary amendment of section, see § 2 of the Business Improvement Districts Emergency Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Act 12-89, June 19, 1997, 44 DCR 3747), and § 2 of the Business Improvement Districts Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Act 12-146, August 12, 1997, 44 DCR 5054).
For temporary amendment of section, see § 2 of the Georgetown Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act. 12-325, April 14, 1998, 45 DCR 2462), § 2 of the Georgetown Business Improvement District Revision Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-346, May 6, 1998, 45 DCR 2986), § 2 of the Georgetown Business Improvement District Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-389, June 30, 1998, 45 DCR 4628), and § 2 of the Georgetown Business Improvement District Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-28, March 15, 1999, 46 DCR 2985).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of North Capital Expansion and Expansion of Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-258, January 30, 2002, 49 DCR 1420).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Capitol Hill Business Improvement District Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-503, October 23, 2002, 49 DCR 10035).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Establishment of the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-592, January 7, 2003, 50 DCR 634).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Business Improvement Districts Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-414, July 17, 2002, 49 DCR 7380).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Capitol Hill Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-455, July 23, 2002, 49 DCR 8104).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Expansion of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-170, October 6, 2003, 50 DCR 9161).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Expansion of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-348, February 6, 2004, 51 DCR 1838).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Mount Vernon Triangle Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-404, March 18, 2004, 51 DCR 3647).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Mount Vernon Triangle Business Improvement District Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-480, July 19, 2004, 51 DCR 7619).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Adams Morgan Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-80, May 18, 2005, 52 DCR 5254).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Adams Morgan Business Improvement District Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-142, July 26, 2005, 52 DCR 7169).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-78, July 27, 2007, 54 DCR 7631).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of the Southwest Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-410, Aug. 1, 2014, 61 DCR 8299).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of the Business Improvement Districts Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-435, Oct. 7, 2014, 61 DCR 10717, 20 STAT 4154).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of the Business Improvement Districts Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-582, Jan. 13, 2015, 62 DCR 1269, 21 STAT 735).
Temporary Legislation
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Business Improvement Districts Temporary Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Law 12-23, September 23, 1997, law notification 44 DCR 5762).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Georgetown Business Improvement District Temporary Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Law 12-137, July 24, 1998, law notification 45 DCR 6508).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of the North Capitol Expansion and Expansion of Business Improvement Districts Temporary Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Law 14-118, May 2, 2002, law notification 49 DCR 4393).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District Temporary Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Law 14-225, March 25, 2003, law notification 50 DCR 2738).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Establishment of the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District Temporary Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Law 14-301, May 3, 2003, law notification 50 DCR 3775).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Expansion of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District Temporary Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Law 15-66, February 6, 2004, law notification 51 DCR 2033).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of the Mount Vernon Triangle Business Improvement District Temporary Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Law 15-173, July 8, 2004, law notification 51 DCR 7338).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of the Adams Morgan Business Improvement District Temporary Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Law 16-16, September 14, 2005, law notification 52 DCR 9774).
Mayor's Orders
Extension of the term of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District Pursuant to the Business Improvement Districts Act of 1996, see Mayor’s Order 2003-130, September 11, 2003 ( 50 DCR 8036).
Expansion of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District Pursuant to the Business Improvement Districts Act of 1996, see Mayor’s Order 2003-153, October 31, 2003 ( 50 DCR 9985).
Registration of the Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District pursuant to the Business Improvement Districts Act of 1996, effective May 29,1996 (D.C. Law 11-134; D.C. Official Code §§ 2-1215.01 et seq. (2003 Supp.)), see Mayor’s Order 2004-73, May 5, 2004 ( 51 DCR 5275).
Delegation of Authority
Delegation of authority pursuant to D.C. Law 11-34D.C. Law 11-134, the “Business Improvement Districts Act of 1996”, see Mayor’s Order 97-129, July 17, 1997 ( 44 DCR 4543).