Last Saturday, the County Board unanimously approved the proposed Rosslyn Business Improvement District (the "BID"), after hearing testimony from the North Rosslyn Civic Association, commercial property owners and other supporters. North Rosslyn testified that the BID would bring needed improvements to Rosslyn's core commercial district but that the BID needed to include Rosslyn residents and civic association representatives in all discussions concerning the BID's policies and operations. Attached is an article from the Sun Gazette:

County Board Approves Special Tax District in Rosslyn
Sun Gazette--
Sunday, December 8

The County Board on Saturday passed an ordinance creating the Rosslyn
Business Improvement Service District (BID), a special tax district
designed to provide enhanced services to the core of Rosslyn.

The district was created at the request of property owners, and will
provide enhanced services that will be funded by a surcharge on the real
estate tax bill of properties within the district.

The enhanced services are envisioned to be efforts such as street and
sidewalk cleaning; landscape and parking upgrades; business recruitment
and retention; and pedestrian and traffic improvements.

Activities in the approximately 17-square-block BID will focus on five
areas of service: beautification, cleaning and maintenance; community
activities and events; transportation, parking, pedestrian and safety
programs; marketing and promotion; and social programs.

"The goal of the Rosslyn BID is to ensure that Rosslyn . . . continues
to thrive as a vibrant, successful, productive commercial area," County
Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said in a statement.

Rosslyn BID activities will be proposed, managed and implemented by a
tax-exempt corporation established for that purpose. The corporation,
known as the Rosslyn Business Improvement Corporation, will operate as a
contractor for the county and will be subject to management and
oversight by the County Board.

The concept of a special tax district was first proposed in 1992 in the
Rosslyn Sector Plan. Under the plan adopted by the County Board, the
taxing district will take effect July 1, 2003, and is scheduled to
terminate in 2008.

Having received County Board approval, the BID steering committee is now moving quickly forward to line up sufficient support within the business community, prepare its business plan and budget, and elect directors. Since North Rosslyn's presentation at the Board hearing, the steering committee is now inviting North Rosslyn to participate in its discussions. North Rosslyn will be represented, for example, at the upcoming January 10 meeting to discuss the proposed business plan. More importantly, perhaps, the steering committee committed to inviting community participation (on a non-voting basis) in the BID's upcoming special meeting. That meeting, to be held on January 30 at 8:00 a.m. (location TBA) will be an important event for the BID, and North Rosslyn members are encouraged to attend. In the meantime, members should use this space (or contact me directly) to provide input on how we can ensure that the BID will work to make Rosslyn a better place to live -- and not just to transact business.