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The Sunnyvale Downtown Association got another boost of support from the City Council on Dec. 13 when it passed two items designed to help improve the look and upkeep of S. Murphy Avenue, Town and Country Village and the rest of the area.
The first item provides $6,400 to hire a consultant to look into the formation of a business improvement district or a property improvement district. Either one would establish a tax to raise funds for maintenance and projects. The difference between the two districts is who is taxed. A business improvement district assesses and taxes the business owners, while a property improvement district taxes the owners of the buildings.
Downtown Association chairman Joe Antuzzi said the group needs the funding for the study so an experienced professional can come to the downtown and work with tenants and owners to flesh out a viable plan.
Antuzzi said the formation of some type of improvement district would help the existing downtown area survive when the Forum Development Group's downtown project is finished.
"The mall will have its own [business improvement district], so for us to compete, we have to have one," Antuzzi said.
The feasibility study should take around 60 days to complete.
The council also voted to return steam cleaning and pressure washing to the downtown streets and sidewalks.
Citywide street cleaning has been cut back in Sunnyvale a number of times to save money, but Antuzzi and other downtown merchants feel that a threshold has been exceeded, and now the streets downtown are cluttered, unhealthy and unattractive to potential customers.
"Murphy Street--unfortunately--is not being cleaned to a level that keeps it clean, safe and tidy," Antuzzi said. "Downtown Murphy Street is not like the rest of the city, it is a gathering place, a high traffic place."
Currently, garbage cans and ashtrays are cleaned on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, but are left full and overflowing after weekend events in the area.
The new schedule will be Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The streets will be pressure-washed with cold water once a week and steam-cleaned once a month.
"We're very very thankful that the council is supportive and took the tike to look at this issue," said Mike Johnson, Downtown Association executive director.
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