Larchmont Will Continue Forward with New 10 Year BID

The Larchmont Village Business Improvement District (BID) will continue to receive vital beautification services through July 2022, and will launch its first PR and marketing campaign this year, it was announced today.

The property owners between Beverly Blvd and 1st St, the main shopping area of Larchmont Blvd, make up the BID district. A full 95.43% of these voted to renew the BID’s 10-year term via the Office of the City Clerk, making the Larchmont Village BID one of the most supported BIDs of the 40 operating in Los Angeles.

“The renewal means Larchmont Village will continue to receive critical services many of us take for granted — street cleaning, trash pick-up, holiday lighting and tree trimming among them,” said Thomas Kneafsey, President of the BID.  “The services that the BID provides for Larchmont Village are essential; they help maintain its community charm and maximize the success of businesses within the BID. In addition, for the first time, to further support our businesses, the BID has a budget line item for marketing and branding.”

“This renewal is great news,” added Councilmember Tom LaBonge. “The Larchmont Village BID has played an integral role in sustaining and improving Larchmont Village as an important economic center in our community.  Larchmont Village is one of the great neighborhoods of District Four and the City of Los Angeles.”

Just over 60 percent of the BID’s $120,000 budget for fiscal year 2013 is earmarked for streetscape services — expenses related to maintaining the boulevard’s attractive physical space.   Streetscape services include cleaning, litter pickup, landscape upkeep and trash bin cleaning, specifically:

• Weekly cleaning all trash and debris from streetscape areas and planters;
• Weekly street sweeping of streetscape areas, between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.;
• Daily (morning) emptying and replacing of all trash liners and wiping off lids;
• Daily mid-afternoon monitoring of all trash liners (all those that are more than half full will be changed) and cleaning the area around each trash receptacle so it’s free of trash and debris;
• Monthly pressure washing of all streetscape areas and trash bin lids;
• Tree trimming every year (next trimming will be in November 2013).

In an effort to continue to stay competitive within the retail and restaurant marketplace, the BID campaign is also designed to develop a clear and compelling brand identity for the Larchmont district. Many feel the area has lacked in promoting itself as a ‘go-to’ shopping destination and remains more of a backwater locale with old-school charm that few outsiders know about. The local agency H+R PR, led by Rebecca Hutchinson and Heather Boylston has been hired to create and implement an internet marketing and social media campaign that will bring Larchmont Boulevard into the fore in the next ten years. The BID will also create an event to kick off the holiday shopping season, fund seasonal banners, decorations and lighting on the boulevard,  and work with the Larchmont Business Association (LBA) and other neighborhood groups in the community.

The Larchmont Village BID was officially established in 1998 as The Larchmont Village Property Owners Business Improvement District to offset the lack of city funds for street services and other benefits so vital to a successful retail street environment.  The BID is funded by a annual tax assessed to each property owner in the designated area; this tax is calculated based on the property owner’s linear, ground-level, front-facing footage on Larchmont Boulevard. The county tax collector collects the assessment and delivers it to the BID through a city-maintained account, thus the BID budget is devised.