City-Owned Properties Could Shape San Bernardino’s Downtown PBID Push

A renewed push to form a downtown San Bernardino Property and Business Improvement District is moving toward City Hall, where one data point could shape the future of the effort: the city itself would be the proposed district’s largest payer and most influential vote.

A downtown property ownership spreadsheet reviewed by Inland Empire Community News shows the city of San Bernardino owns 79 parcels within the proposed district, with a listed assessment of $77,566.85. That represents about 25.7% of the proposed assessment total across 592 parcels, making the city the largest single property owner in the district by assessment weight.

The next largest listed property owners are Southern California Gas Co., with a proposed assessment of $25,424.26; the county of San Bernardino, with $23,188.92; the Inland Empire 66ers Baseball Club, with $17,772.48; and the state of California, with $8,360.61.

That ownership structure makes City Hall’s support central to the formation of the district, known as a PBID, which would assess property owners within a defined downtown boundary and use the money for services and improvements inside that same district.

“When Civitas completed its report in 2023, the city owned about 23% of downtown property within the proposed district, and it may still hold that stake today,” said David Friedman, founder of downtown-based Realicore Real Estate, who has helped revive the effort. “That could make the city the PBID’s largest financial contributor and one of its most influential votes.”

Friedman said the city’s role is not just procedural, but foundational.

“What we’d like is for the city to be on board with it and adopt it themselves because they are the biggest player,” Friedman said. “Because they’re the biggest property owner, they also have the biggest responsibility for fixing up downtown.”

A January 2023 feasibility study prepared by Civitas Advisors for the city reached a similar conclusion. The study said the proposed Downtown San Bernardino PBID had “a solid foundation of support” from property owners and key stakeholders, but also noted that the city was the largest paying property owner.

“Given the city’s support, a successful PBID formation is very likely,” the study states.

The study also said county support would be crucial because county-owned properties were included in the proposed boundaries.

A PBID, short for Property and Business Improvement District, is a defined assessment district where property owners pay an additional assessment based on their property’s size, type or another approved formula. The money is collected for a specific area and must be spent within that district, typically on services beyond standard city operations, such as security, cleanup, graffiti removal, lighting, landscaping, marketing and public-space improvements.

In downtown San Bernardino, the proposed PBID would not create a city department. The Civitas study says a new nonprofit owners’ association would be formed to manage the district, with property owners who pay the assessment serving on its board and helping decide how the money is spent. The nonprofit would be required to provide annual reports on activities and expenditures to the city and property owners.

“You draw on a map where you want the district to be, and you assess the property owners in that district,” Friedman said. “That money goes toward safety, cleanup, branding and infrastructure improvements.”

Friedman said the intent is not to replace city services, but to add a more direct, street-level presence.

“We augment the city services, but we’re more boots on the ground,” he said.

While the formal PBID process has not been completed, Realicore Real Estate and Stronger Together Now have entered into a memorandum of understanding tied to the effort, including a downtown San Bernardino ambassador role. Supporters said the ambassador program is intended to show, on a smaller scale, what a future PBID could provide.

Janelle Martin, COO of Stronger Together Now, said the ambassador role is designed around direct communication with businesses, residents and visitors.

“If there is blight, unhoused individuals in front of a business or safety issues, those things are constantly documented,” Martin said. “The ambassador helps bridge that communication with the city.”

Supporters described the current ambassador program’s working area as roughly from Rialto Avenue to Fifth Street and from east of the freeway to Arrowhead Avenue. The 2023 Civitas feasibility study includes a proposed district boundary map, though the study’s written text does not provide a street-by-street legal description of the boundary.

The Civitas study estimated a first-year budget of $301,249.33. Of that, 70%, or $210,874.53, would be allocated to clean and safe services. Another 15%, or $45,187.40, would go toward capital improvements; 10%, or $30,124.93, would go toward administration; 3%, or $9,037.48, would be held for contingency and reserves; and 2%, or $6,024.99, would cover collection fees.

Proposed assessment rates in the study were $0.015 per square foot for commercial parcels, $0.0125 per square foot for vacant parcels and $0.005 per square foot for tax-exempt parcels.

Potential services include security patrols, direct communication between property and business owners and law enforcement, litter removal, bulky-item removal, graffiti removal, sidewalk pressure washing, landscaping, decorative lighting, banners, wayfinding signage, public art and other public-space improvements.

The formation effort has been discussed for years. Friedman said he began raising the PBID concept about five years ago as a way to get downtown property owners and businesses moving in the same direction.

“I wanted to get all the property owners and businesses on the same page,” Friedman said. “Let’s all make the city better together instead of working on the same thing in our own separate ways.”

The city funded the Civitas feasibility study in 2023, but supporters say the effort lost momentum as San Bernardino went through multiple city managers.

“Since then, it went through three or four different city managers, so it kind of got dropped,” Friedman said. “With each city manager, we’ve had to bring the ball back up again.”

Friedman said volunteers have already been walking downtown, reporting graffiti, trash and encampments through the Go SB City app and gathering information from businesses.

“If you see graffiti, trash or a homeless encampment, you report it on the app,” Friedman said. “You don’t engage; you report it. It is a liaison position and a leadership position. You connect with small businesses, connect with the city, collect that data and turn it into action.”

Martin said the work is also about connecting people to resources. She cited examples of helping businesses navigate permits, connecting people with business support organizations and referring residents to community resources.

“We want to be able to refer people to what they need,” Martin said. “As a community member, you might be looking for someone to do your taxes or legal services, and we can refer you to businesses.”

Safety remains one of the central arguments for the PBID. The proposed clean and safe program could include dedicated patrols by off-duty San Bernardino police officers or supplemental private security, according to the Civitas study.

Friedman said the visible presence matters.

“You see that shirt and you know, ‘That’s an ambassador. I can reach out to them,’” he said. “One of the programs we want is for someone to be able to walk you to your car.”

Martin said that sense of safety is especially important for downtown businesses that operate outside traditional work hours.

“For us, that is the most important piece,” Martin said. “If we want to have events here at night or on weekends, we need people to feel safe and secure.”

Under the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994, the PBID would require a formal process that includes a management district plan, an engineer’s report, petition gathering, City Council action, mailed ballots and a final public hearing.

Property owners representing more than 50% of the proposed assessment weight must support the petition before the process can advance. If property owners representing more than 50% of the assessments protest during the ballot process, the PBID cannot be formed.

Friedman said supporters hope the proposal will be presented to the San Bernardino City Council in July, though the date has shifted before.

“We know Eric wants it done the right way,” Friedman said, referring to City Manager Eric Levitt. “As much as we’re pushing it, it’s a team effort with the city. We understand if they need a little more time to make it happen, but we do want to get to the finish line.”

IECN submitted a request for comment to Levitt. As of publication, he had not responded.

IECN also encountered Levitt on June 18 at CASA of San Bernardino County’s open house and ribbon cutting, where he said he does not have a lot of experience with PBIDs, but that PBIDs had been in place in previous cities where he worked.

Levitt became San Bernardino city manager in August 2025 after serving as city manager in Fullerton.

PBID-style districts and business improvement districts are already used in other Southern California cities, including Pasadena, Riverside, Ontario, Apple Valley, Los Angeles and San Diego. Supporters also pointed to Old Pasadena, the Arts District in Los Angeles, Ontario and Riverside as examples of districts that have used pooled assessments to support business corridors.

Still, Friedman said he understands concerns about gentrification and whether added property costs could eventually be passed down to tenants.

“Some people are worried about gentrification, and this is a tax on property owners,” Friedman said. “What can happen is that a cost on a property owner may trickle down into increased rent for a tenant. But the idea is that if the business environment improves, those effects are lessened because more revenue is generated for everyone.”

He said the district could also be structured to reduce potential impacts, including by assessing only ground-floor commercial space in some mixed-use buildings.

“You could have a 10-story residential mixed-use building and only assess the retail portion because that is what benefits the district,” Friedman said. “There are ways to lessen or negate the impact a PBID might have on gentrification.”

He said community involvement will be important as the proposal moves forward.

“We want the community involved in this formation,” Friedman said. “This is not just property owners and developers working together. Downtown San Bernardino is so far behind. We have everything to gain by treating people right.”

For Martin, the PBID is ultimately about coordination.

“Everyone can get involved,” Martin said. “This would allow us to improve safety for patrons, improve commerce and make sure everyone is in step with one another to create a better downtown for San Bernardino.”