BID FOR WESTWOOD?

No, not that kind of bid. BID stands for Business Improvement District. Essentially, through a process permitted under state law, local businesses form a BID which provides services (such as street cleaning and security) above and beyond what the city provides. In effect, the businesses tax themselves to pay for the added services. There are several BIDs in downtown LA, for example.

Westwood went into decline after a shooting in the late 1980s seemed to scare away tourism and shoppers. The action went to Century City and Santa Monica. A BID was formed at one point but someone ran off with the kitty, apparently, and the BID was dissolved. Now a new BID for Westwood is slated to be created with UCLA playing a part. Westwood Boulevard in particular is currently a parade of empty stores with for-lease signs and the hope is that a BID could revive the area.

The LA Business Journal reports this week that two property owners are threatening litigation if they are included in the BID. One is the small Hilgard House Hotel whose owners do not believe that the BID would be of benefit to their hotel. The other is Alex Casden, the big-time developer of the "mixed use" project of retail and apartments that was recently built just east of Westwood Blvd. The Journal does not provide a link to its article but this note is a quick summary. The Westwood BID is particularly a project of LA City Councilman Paul Koretz who represents the UCLA area.

The question on the BID is what the litigants might be willing to pay in a BID assessment (or how much they are willing to pay for lawyers).