Downtown Willow Glen's Community Benefit Improvement District:
Serving Willow Glen at the Community Level
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Willow Glen's history, neighborhoods and business district create a unique dynamic within the city of San Jose. To maintain its charm and small town appeal property owners in downtown Willow Glen created a Community Benefit Improvement District (CBID).
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A cornerstone for maintaining the renaissance of Downtown Willow Glen.
Willow Glen stands out as a lifestyle center and is hugely improved from the down-days not so many years ago. But in a rapidly evolving climate for retail business and professional services, maintaining this advantage means being able to act fast and focus hard on issues - rather than wait for City Hall to get things done. Your CBID enables the Willow Glen Business Association to do so. Its locally-raised funds enable us to expedite action on issues ranging from graffiti removal and tree trimming to parking management, landscaping and support for community events. The result: A reliable foundation for maintaining, improving and promoting San Jose's most popular business district.
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Funded and managed locally to benefit Willow Glen.
San Jose features a wide range of business districts. Only Willow Glen offers your business the advantages of having a CBID. These are two-fold:.
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Having a CBID in no way decreases the services that the City of San Jose is obligated to provide Willow Glen.
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The money that property owners contribute to the CBID for Downtown Willow Glen goes directly to improving and maintaining this business district and nowhere else. It's your money spent where it matters most: Locally. Funds raised in Willow Glen stay in Willow Glen.
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Why CBID?
There are no single players when it comes to maintaining and promoting any business district. Even though many issues are best handled at the community level, doing so has to be done in partnership with the City, property owners, business owners, residents and customers. Our CBID provides the WGBA vital leverage to do this. Raising money from assessments on every parcel in the district, it provides a guaranteed financial base for maintaining and enhancing Downtown Willow Glen - and a springboard for funding events and promotions that are enormously popular and contribute greatly to WGBA's annual budget, allowing the WGBA to do even more.
Willow Glen's CBID was approved by property owners within the the CBID footprint in 2008; it was implemented in 2010.
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Since its implementation in 2010 the CBID has provided over $1.7 million toward improving, maintaining and promoting the Downtown Willow Glen business district. The WGBA has leveraged this stable source of funds by creating events and promotions that have raised additional funds.
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CBID benefits over 300 businesses in Downtown Willow Glen.
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Local oversight for more than 30 critical services is empowered by CBID including:
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Sidewalk maintenance
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Graffiti and trash removal
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Landscape maintenance, tree trimming and plantings
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Parking space rental in the Bank of America lot for public parking
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Advertising and promotion of the district
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Special events to bring consumers to the district
​All property owners and businesses located within the footprint of the CBID are automatically members of the WGBA with no annual membership dues. Businesses located outside of the CBID may apply for associate membership in the WGBA for an annual fee.
CBID Renewal Information Brochure
CBID Fall 2017 Report
CBID by the Numbers
For more details on Willow Glen's CBID and its benefits check out the Frequently Asked Questions, Finance and Services pages or click below to download the F12_2023 Brochure & Information Packet on the Willow Glen CBID. Here is a brief summary of the CBID:
(CBID) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How is the CBID managed?
The Willow Glen Business Association (WGBA) is the management entity for the CBID for Downtown Willow Glen. The Board of Directors consists of property owners, business owners and community members. The Board governs the organization, ensuring that the funds are collected and spent according to the District Management Plan. Meetings of the board and its subcommittees are subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act and must be open to the public. The Willow Glen CBID initially ran from 1/1/2010 through 12/31/2024. The renewal of the Willow Glen CBID was adopted by the San Jose City Council and was put into effect from 1/1/2025 through 12/31/2039.
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Does the City of San Jose reduce services because Willow Glen has a CBID?
Absolutely not, which is one of the main attractions with a CBID. A service baseline agreement is entered into with all City agencies that provide services to downtown Willow Glen. The CBID holds those agencies accountable for continuing to provide services and under California law, the City is not allowed to cut services specific to our district unless it is making cuts City wide. The WGBA board took it a step further and had a letter authored and signed by Mayor Reed and District 6 Councilmember Oliverio pledging to maintain City services within the CBID (see letter dated July 14, 2008).
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Where is the Willow Glen Community Benefit Improvement District?
Essentially, most commercial properties on and around Lincoln Avenue between Minnesota Avenue to Coe Avenue.
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How much does the CBID cost and when and how are assessments made?
Assessments vary for each property and is based on three components: lot size, building size and linear street frontage with a cost multiplier tied to each and based on methodology used in dozens of other CBIDs. The CBID assessment is included in property owners' tax bills. Properties are categorized into two categories. Learn more in the Finance section.
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Do all Willow Glen residents pay a CBID assessment?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! No one outside the boundaries of the CBID pays any assessment for the CBID.
(CBID) FINANCE
Total CBID budget for its first year of operations in the renewal term is $453,936, as follows:
(1) An allowance is made for general benefits that the CBID may provide. Any CBID services that are found to provide general benefit cannot be paid for with assessment revenue. A certified engineer has estimated that the general benefit from the CBID services accounts for $9,264 of the estimated budget, resulting in a total assessable budget of $453,936.
Assessment Methodology: How property assessments are calculated
METHODOLOGY EXAMPLE
Sample Parcel Assessment - Commercial
To calculate the assessment for a commercial parcel with 5,000 building square feet, 5,000 lot square feet, and 50 linear street frontage, multiply each by the appropriate assessment rate:
Building square footage (5,000) x assessment rate ($0.26762) = $1,338.10
Lot square footage (5,000) x assessment rate ($0.09469) = $473.45
Linear frontage (50) x assessment rate ($14.8888) = $744.44
Total Parcel Assessment = $2,555.99
Sample Parcel Assessment – Residential Single Family
To calculate the assessment for a residential single family parcel with 2,000 building square feet, 5,000 lot square feet, and 50 linear street frontage, multiply each by the appropriate assessment rate:
Building square footage (2,000) x assessment rate ($0.20071) = $401.42
Lot square footage (5,000) x assessment rate ($0.07102) = $355.10
Linear frontage (50) x assessment rate ($11.16666) = $558.33
Total Parcel Assessment = $1,314.85
SERVICES
Services funded by the CBID
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Clean, Safe and Beautiful (C/S/B)
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Landscaping and Maintenance such as maintaining landscaped corridors, tree trimming throughout the district, maintaining pedestrian walkways.
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Beautification such as tree lighting, streetscape furniture, bike racks, information kiosks, holiday décor, art, and signage.
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Ambassadors that support law enforcement, property owners and businesses in overall crime prevention efforts while providing concierge service to customers, residents, and employees. These Ambassadors will also provide cleaning and maintenance services such as sweeping and pressure washing sidewalks and gutters, removing litter, trash, and graffiti throughout the District.
Economic Vitality (EV)
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Business Development that improves the business climate for existing and targeted new storefront businesses and restaurant users, including activities to assist property owners in recruiting and retaining businesses, and supporting the marketing of new real estate investment and redevelopment opportunities to the broader public.
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Marketing and Promotions activities that proactively promote a positive image of the District to those in San Jose and around the region.
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Special Events that draw visitors to the community.
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Management (MGMT)
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Management activities that administer the CBID programs, including communicating with stakeholders and serving as a resource and representative of the community to advocate for policies and resources that further the growth of the neighborhood.