Economic redevelopment of small-city downtowns: options and considerations for the practitioner.

The Main Street Approach

Economic development programs and activities can be undertaken at different levels of expense depending on available funds and fiscal limitations. One program is the Main Street Approach, which is concerned with ongoing threats to commercial architecture and utilizes historic building preservation in small-city downtowns. In Florida, F.S. Ch. 267, or what is commonly called The Florida Historical Resources Act, (1) refers to the Main Street Program as one of the most important methods by which local governments and organizations can preserve historic structures in Florida. Throughout Florida and the nation, there is greater attention in preserving and maintaining the appearance of historic downtown business districts. In many small cities, the downtown main street has deteriorated on account of poorly maintained buildings and declining economic strength.

The Main Street Approach emphasizes four points: organization, promotion and marketing, design, and economic restructuring. (2) All four activities have to be included for a successful downtown strategy to take place, and each activity reinforces the other three.

Organization means creating consensus, accord, and collaboration among groups located in downtown and the entire city. The people working and living in downtown and the entire city have a special interest in the economic revitalization of the downtown. Establishment of a future vision for the downtown is necessary, and this can only be accomplished by work with local groups, including the chamber of commerce, merchants, property owners, and local citizens to develop a plan. This shared effort between businesses, property owners, and residents requires active participation by all parties and is essential for success. (3)

Promotion and marketing of the city's unique and distinctive assets and historic buildings should be made to shoppers, new businesses, and visitors in order to create a positive and optimistic image of the city. The promotion of special events and retail activities to emphasize the city's unique heritage should be made. As a way of promoting retail sales, it is important to encourage the combination of residential housing and businesses on the same property or within an identified district to encourage people to walk, shop, and live in downtown.

Commercial real estate in the downtown district should be made market ready, to effectively compete for targeted businesses. The city needs ready-to-go buildings for immediate occupancy by tenants. The chamber of commerce and Main Street Downtown can advertise these matters so that properties are available for lease or sale in the downtown district. If some of the downtown district's buildings need to become market ready, then city officials can offer incentives to owners. (4) Local code enforcement boards can assess a per diem fine and file a foreclosure action against the building owner if repairs are not made in accordance with the municipal code. (5) Municipal unsafe structures boards can enter a demolition order if the building cannot be repaired. (6) Eminent domain is also a possibility if there is blight in the neighborhood, although this remedy should be used only as a last resort. (7) Tenants will not be attracted to a city unless they see market-ready commercial buildings.

Design enhances the attractiveness of the business district and can help make economic development take place. Design can create an appealing environment for historic building rehabilitation, well-maintained sidewalks, street and sidewalk lighting, and such other improvements to the physical image of downtown. A walking trail for pedestrians to enjoy and feel safe will enhance the downtown's looks and its economy. Quincy is one of many small cities in Florida that created a walking trail in its downtown. (8) Other small cities that have -created a walking trail include Mount Dora, St. Augustine, and Fernandina Beach. (9)

Economic restructuring strengthens the economic base of a downtown area by diversification. Activities help existing downtown businesses expand, recruit new businesses, provide a balanced mix of businesses, adapt unused and vacant space into productive property, and work on competitiveness of business enterprises. To promote retail areas, it is important to encourage the combination of residential housing and businesses on the same property and within the same district, so that people are encouraged to walk, shop, work, and live without using their automobile. (10)

Other Planning Methods for Economic Revitalization

* Business Improvement Districts--Florida law provides for business improvement districts (BIDs), which have been an important economic development tool since the 1960s. (11) BIDs can be efficient, in part because they do what are usually municipal government responsibilities (safety patrolling, sidewalk maintenance, etc.) without being slowed by bureaucratic rules. Because the BID assesses a local tax that is directed to services within the district, local administrators can apply the funds to local needs with the confidence that there will be no waste of benefits built up from district activities. Activities are determined by local leaders, applied to local immediate needs, and designed directly to boost economic development. BIDs are in use in diverse settings for a variety of reasons that allow local merchants and property owners to assess additional taxes on themselves that will be used for local planning services as defined by a nonprofit governing board. (12)

* Gaming--Gaming is very popular in the U.S., and it is not only used to attract people interested in gambling, but also as a family-oriented destination. Legal gaming includes parimutuel betting on horses, greyhounds, jai-alai, keno, bingo, slot machines, poker, blackjack and poker machines, and video roulette machines, among others. There is debate over whether gambling can be good for an economy, but one thing is certain; it can further economic development and bring new economic activity to distressed areas, and on average, is perceived to be positive for economic and tourism development. Gaming is a valid form of economic development that results in employment and investment, and when used in a professional and controlled manner, it can bring new economic activity to distressed areas. By and large, it is a form of recreational entertainment, so that people can spend their discretionary income. (13) Las Vegas-style gambling will now be permitted in Broward County, which will have slot machines and casinos within the foreseeable future. Certain Florida counties can decide if they want Las Vegas-style gambling after the passage of a constitutional amendment by Florida voters in 2004 that allowed voters in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to decide if tracks and jai-alai frontons can have slot machines. (14) Gulf-stream Park Race Track in Hallandale Beach, Hollywood Greyhound Race Track in Hallandale Beach, Pompano Park harness racing in Pompano Beach, and Dania Beach Jai-Alai will be able to allow Las Vegas-style gambling in their establishments in the future.

* Density--Density is a way to create healthy urban environments. Safer streets, more vibrant cultural and commercial activity, more efficient public transportation, nicer parks and housing, protected water resources and environment are all positive effects of density. Much of today's urban development literature suggests greater density is necessary to maintain healthy urban environments. (15)

The debate between density and its opposite--sprawl--has been going on for the past half-century and goes back to basic differences proposed by Le Corbusier and Jane Jacobs, his opposite. Le Corbusier (16) believed that single-use zoning is how cities should be developed. The city center would be for commerce and businesses, some public services, an array of skyscrapers, luxury shops, restaurants, and cafes, and the outer system should contain residential areas, because people prefer to live in the suburbs. Jacobs, (17) on the other hand, believed that neighborhoods in cities must be created carefully, and encouraged dense, mixed-use neighborhoods. She suggested that all parts of a city--people, streets, parks, sidewalks, buildings, neighborhoods, government, and the economy--have to be connected with each other. She saw a city's parts as working together, not separately and independently, because an entire city must work together to remain healthy.

A small-town city with a vision of keeping itself small and friendly can keep its small-town vision, and it can also grow nicely and increase its density by building mixed-use neighborhoods in downtown and building up. Urban societies require a certain minimum population to support them. Cities are about people, and without a sufficient number of people to support downtown, a small-town city will not be sustainable. Communities constantly debate the level of development they should allow, but it is important to acknowledge that density is a solution rather than the problem. In the end, communities should conclude that a successful downtown district in a small city must have a balance and mix of uses that includes retail shopping, professional, financial, governmental services, entertainment, and housing. These uses require residents and visitors to be brought together for many purposes that promise to increase a community's density and connect the community's districts. (18)

* Retail outlets--Retail outlets are important because they lie in the heart of the city and are necessary to broaden the mix of economic development to ensure that the small-city downtown is multifunctional. (19) Local customers, employees, residents, and visitors will respond favorably when they feel that they are receiving good value for money spent in a convenient, friendly, and safe place. When retail outlets, restaurants, and mixed-use exists, the small-town city can be an interesting and vibrant place. Depending on its lifestyle data and demographics, if the city's retail stores focus on the "middle market" of moderately priced goods and services, grows its retail base as it fills niches in the local marketplace. City officials should conduct a market analysis study and develop a "short list" of retail store types justified in a detailed market. (20)

* Housing--Housing has to be encouraged at both market rate and affordable levels. Mixed use--lower floors with retail outlets and upper floors with residential housing--should be offered to meet the diverse needs of the community and all income levels. Affordable housing is vital to every community. Allowing people to live in the same communities where they work and shop improves the quality of life, increases residents' sense of belonging, and can reduce traffic congestion. Walkable urbanity--an urban landscape that makes people want to walk through it--should be the goal of every small-city downtown. A diversity of housing types should exist to meet the needs of the downtown community including condos, townhouses, single room occupancy units, lofts, and other housing types for greater occupancy levels. (21)

Conclusion

Economic development is vital to the sustainability of any small city. If successfully used, it can secure the long-term fiscal stability of a small city, provide a range of jobs, and make sure that there is an ample variety and availability of goods and services for all city residents. The goal of any small-city downtown economic revitalization program is to enhance the social, political, physical, and economic ideals of the traditional central business district. If successful, it will expand and improve the livability and sustainability of the entire community by attracting employment, shopping, recreation, social activities, housing, and education.

This article has discussed strategies and methods that can be considered by real estate attorneys, developers, and planners to enhance the economic redevelopment of a small-city downtown. Although every small city has unique assets and resources, cities are more alike than they are different. All cities need to look attractive and create a sense of place and community. All downtowns should be multifunctional so that many different types of activities--shopping, personal and professional services, dining, entertainment, and housing--occur in the downtown to ensure vitality and sustainability. Historic buildings should be kept alive along with their heritage. Retail options are important so that downtown may offer shopping and employment. Local officials need to promote new businesses as well as existing ones. If the downtown is economically multifunctional, abandoned property and blight can be converted to new uses quickly. Downtown tax bases should increase. Employment opportunities should improve. Perhaps the most important ingredient of any redevelopment plan is the emphasis of a strong private/public partnership, because the private sector is critical to the success of any small-city downtown. As the private and public sector work together, both the public and private interest can be served with the goal of making downtown once again an important shopping and living district. And as a practitioner, you can see to it that your client is part of the plan with the intention of making the small-city downtown sustainable and livable.

(1) FLA. STAT., Ch. 267 (2005). Florida Historical Resources Act.

(2) Florida Main Street. Revitalizing Florida's Downtowns (March 6, 2006), www.flheritage.com/preservation/architecture/ mainstreet/mstreet.cfm; Kerri L. Post, Communities with a Sense of Place, Florida History & the Arts (Summer 2004), available at www.flheritage.com/ services/magazine/04summer/article4. cfm.

(3) See MICHAEL A. BURAYIDI, DOWNTOWNS: REVITALIZING THE CENTERS OF SMALL URBAN COMMUNITIES (Routledge 2001); Suzanne G. Dane, MAIN STREET SUCCESS STORIES (1st ed. 1997); Kent A. Robertson, Can Small-city Downtowns Remain Viable?: A National Study of Development Issues and Strategies, 65 J. AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION 270 (Summer 1999); RICHARD V. FRANCAVIGLIA, MAIN STREET REVISITED: TIME, SPACE, AND IMAGE BUILDING IN SMALLTOWN AMERICA (University of Iowa Press 1996); see notes 9 & 10.

(4) See Growth Management Study Commission, Executive Order #2000-196, available at www.dca.state.fl.us/ growth/executiveorder.htm; FLA. STAT. [subsection] 163.2514, 163.2520 (2005).

(5) See FLA. STAT., Ch. 162 (2005).

(6) See Town of Ponce Inlet v. Dragomirecky, 884 So. 2d 408 (Fla. 1st D.C.A. 2004); FLA. STAT. [section] 553.77 (1)(h) (2005), grants the Florida Building Commission the authority to review local decisions declaring structures to be unsafe and subject to repair or demolition. The FBC is located within the Department of Community Affairs for administrative purposes. Counties and municipalities in Florida usually provide an unsafe structures board that hears claims that a building is unsafe and subject to repair or demolition.

(7) See Kelo v. Town of New London,--U.S.--, 125 S. Ct. 2655; 162 L. Ed. 2d 439 (2005). Blight has been very broadly defined in Florida, and under the U.S. Supreme Court's in Kelo, eminent domain can be used to economically revitalize a city by eliminating blighted areas.

(8) Quincy, Florida, Welcome to the City of Quincy (2001), www.myquincy.net/.

(9) See Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce (2005), www.mountdora.com/; City of Fernandina Beach Welcomes You (2005), www.fernandinabeachflorida.org/; Old City.Com (2005), www.oldcity.com/.

(10) Christopher B. Leinberger, Turning Around Downtown. Twelve Steps to Revitalization, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION RESEARCH BRIEF (March 2005), available at www.brookings.edu/metro/ pubs/20050307_12steps.pdf.

(11) See FLA. STAT. [subsection] 163.501-163.523 (2005); FLA. STAT. [section] 163.514 (2005).

(12) Id.

(13) JOHN LYMAN MASON & MICHAEL NELSON, GOVERNING GAMBLING (2001); R. Dunstan, Gambling in the United States, GAMBLING IN CALIFORNIA (January 1997), available at www.library.ca.gov/CRB/97/03/ Chapt1.html; R. Dunstan, Economic Impacts of Gambling. GAMBLING IN CALIFORNIA (January 1997), available at www. library.ca.gov/CRB/97/03/Chapt9.html; C. Chadbourne, P. Walker, and M. Wolfe, Gambling, Economic Development, and Historic Preservation, AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOC. (1997), available at govinfo. library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/pathch5. pdf.

(14) FLA. CONST. art. X, [section] 23 (2005). The amendment provides in pertinent part that after voter approval of the constitutional amendment permitting slot machines, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties each may hold a county-wide referendum in their respective counties to determine if slot machines may be authorized for use in existing, licensed parimutuel facilities (thoroughbred and harness racing, greyhound racing, and jai-alai).

(15) Lynn Richards, Water and the Density Debate, PLANNING 30 (June 2006); Congress for the New Urbanism (2006), www.cnu.org/; Smart Growth America (2006), www.smartgrowthamerica.org/; E. L. Glaeser, Demand for density?, 18 THE BROOKINGS REVIEW 12-17 (2000).

(16) L. LE CORBUSIER, THE CITY OF TO-MORROW AND ITS PLANNING (The Architectural Press) (1929).

(17) J. JACOBS, THE DEATH AND LIFE OF GREAT AMERICAN CITIES (Vintage Books ed. 1992) (1961).

(18) See note 15.

(19) See G. Ferguson, Characteristics of Successful Downtowns: Shared Attributes of Outstanding Small & Mid-Sized Downtowns, Ithaca Downtown Partnership (2005), available at www.nypf.org/ documents/greatdowntowns.doc; G. Ferguson, Downtown. Does It Matter?, Ithaca Downtown Partnership (2004), available at www.communityfoundationoftc.org/library/ documents/12-21-04DOWNTOWNFINALEXSUM.pdf; Robert E. Lang, Office Sprawl: The Evolving Geography of Business, The Brookings Institution Center on Urban & Metropolitan Policy (October 2000), available at www.brookings. edu/es/urban/officesprawl/lang.pdf; B. Katz & B. Bernstein, The New Metropolitan Agenda: Connecting Cities & Suburbs, 16 THE BROOKINGS REV. 4 (1998); Kent A. Robertson, Can Small-city Downtowns Remain Viable?: A National Study of Development Issues and Strategies, 65 J. AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION 270 (Summer 1999).

(20) Id.

(21) FLA. STAT. [section] 187.201 (5)(17) (2005). See also Christopher B. Leinberger, Turning Around Downtown. Twelve Steps to Revitalization, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION RESEARCH BRIEF (March 2005), available at www.brookings.edu/metro/ pubs/20050307_12steps.pdf.

Harry M. Hipler is a sole practitioner in Dania Beach and practices in the areas of municipal law, family law, and commercial litigation. He received his J.D. in 1975 and an LL.M. in taxation in 1981.

This column is submitted on behalf of the City, County and Local Government Law Section, Mary Helen Campbell, chair, and Jewel W. Cole, editor.