In December 2010, the City of Walnut Creek established the Walnut Creek Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID), with boundaries coextensive with that of the city. Under contract with the City, the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau (Chamber) performs management services for the District. The Chamber submitted the Annual Assessment Report of the TBID to the Walnut Creek City Council and on February 3, 2015, the Walnut Creek City Council approved the report. The report provided an overview of the current year's program (2015) and the projections proposed for the next year (2016). It includes a budget, a proposed assessment amount, and a list of the hotels that comprise the TBID. In all respects except one the Annual Assessment Report is similar to the report for the current fiscal year. The Annual Report includes a proposal that would add two hotels to the TBID by changing the district's boundaries. Both of these hotels- the Embassy Suites Walnut Creek and Renaissance Club Sport Walnut Creek- are located within the unincorporated area of Contra Costa County in the Contra Costa Centre. A map showing the proposed boundary change is attached.
The proposal to include the Embassy Suites Walnut Creek and the Renaissance Club Sport Walnut Creek to the TBID is the desire of the existing members and supported by the two new hotels seeking inclusion. Because these two hotels are located within the unincorporated area of the County, the consent of the County Board of Supervisors to a change in the boundaries of the TBID is required before the City Council can take final action on an assessment that includes the Embassy Suites Walnut Creek and the Renaissance Club Sport Walnut Creek to the TBID.
The TBID is funded from assessments collected quarterly by the City from the hotels comprising the TBID and these assessments are then remitted to the Chamber. The assessment is currently derived from the four hotels in the TBID within Walnut Creek, respectively Diablo Mountain Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Motel 6, and Walnut Creek Marriott. The assessment structure is based on a rate of $2.00 per room, per day of occupancy for properties with 75 or more sleeping rooms; properties with fewer than 75 sleeping rooms are assessed $1.50 per room per day. This fiscal year's assessments are proposed to be levied at the current rate structure noted above. Walnut Creek city staff and the Chamber are not proposing any changes to these formulas.
The TBID funds the Chamber's efforts in promotion of the City of Walnut Creek and the hotels in the area as a tourist destination and local area of attraction. Promotional activities include targeted marketing, advertising, public relations, promoting visitor activities and attractions, and other related activities. Ordinarily, because the primary purpose of the TBID is promotion of tourism, the Walnut Creek City Council can adopt a resolution confirming the Assessment Report as submitted by TBID's advisory board, or adopt a resolution continuing the program and assessments without change, and thereby levy the assessment for the applicable fiscal year without a public hearing. (Sts. & Highways Code, 36535, subd. (d). However, because of the proposed boundary change to the TBID and the required consent of the Board of Supervisors, the levy process this year requires additional steps. They are:
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The City Council must adopt a resolution of intention setting a public hearing on the proposed boundary change. The City Council completed this step on February 3, 2015. On the same day, the City Council also adopted a resolution seeking the consent of the Board of Supervisors to the proposed boundary change. Copies of the resolutions are attached.
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The City Council must hold the public hearing. The hearing was scheduled for February 17, 2015.
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The Board of Supervisors must consider whether to consent to the change in boundaries of the TBID to include certain unincorporated territory in the TBID. This is the matter before the Board of Supervisors today.
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If the Board consents to the change in the boundaries, the City Council may change the boundaries and levy the assessment.
The Embassy Suites Walnut Creek and the Renaissance Club Sport Walnut Creek will not be included in the Walnut Creek TBID.