Rick DeSilva Of Chinatown Chamber Of Commerce On Downtown BID And Chinatown

Rick DeSilva is the President of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber Of Commerce and Partner in Loh Realty and Investments. He's also someone I've know since 1997, when I worked as Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris Economic Advisor. I literally ran into Rick at the July 24th Oakland City Council Meeting where the Downtown / Uptown Business Improvement District was approved for another 10 years of life. If you're wondering what the Business Improvement District , or what a Business Improvement District is and does, it takes advantage of what's called Mello - Roos Financing as passed by a legislation called Mello-Roos, or the 1982 The Mello-Roos Community Facilities District Act. The The Mello-Roos Community Facilities District Act happens when 2/3rds of the property owners in a drawn special boundary of any shape or size vote to tax themselves. The purpose of the The Mello-Roos Community Facilities District Act use in the Downtown Oakland case happened as an outgrowth of concerns about vandalism and security in the Downtown Oakland area in 1999. Oakland has several BIDs: Downtown Oakland Association, Fruitvale Business Improvement District , Jack London Improvement District, Koreatown/Northgate BID, Laurel District Association, Lakeshore Avenue Business Improvement District, Montclair Village Association, Rockridge District Association, Temescal/Telegraph, and Lake Merritt/Uptown Association. As Rick explains in the video, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber Of Commerce is a kinds of watch-dog organization over the Downtown Oakland BIDs. He has concerns over how Oakland development has encroached on Chintatown, and that, combined with the high-minimum wage ordinance has combined to hurt the small independent businesses that give Oakland Chinatown its character, and leave it to be changed by giant chain retailer and restaurant operators. Stay tuned.

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