Commercial property owners in Mt. Lebanon are feuding over a proposed business improvement district that some believe would impose the equivalent of an unfair new tax on certain businesses.
The five-year plan would establish the Washington Road Improvement District, creating a special zone along the main business section, from 600 Washington Road by Rollier's Hardware to 750 Washington Road by Washington Square Condominiums. The district would collect annual assessments from property owners to finance promotions to boost retail sales.
Similar improvement districts in the region include the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which started in 1997, and the Mt. Pleasant Downtown Business District Authority in Westmoreland County, formed in 1984 and considered the oldest improvement district of its kind in the state.
Owners of Mt. Lebanon professional buildings with little or no retail space grumble they would be forced to pay a hefty portion of the assessment while reaping little in return.
"If you want to create this monster, then you charge those who are benefiting directly," said Gerard J. Cipriani, a partner in a firm that owns 650 Washington Road, formerly known as the "Cyclops Building."
But Tami Sampson, owner of The Fabric Place, 727 Washington Road, said the plan would benefit all property owners by helping keep the business district vibrant, attractive and valuable as real estate.
"There's a reason why people in these office buildings choose this area," said Sampson, a member of a steering committee of property owners and merchants that drafted the plan with staff support from the municipality. The committee held public meetings on the proposal in March, June and October.
Property owners have until Dec. 7 to reject the proposal or allow it to go to Mt. Lebanon commissioners for possible adoption.
If at least 40 percent of owners file written objections by the deadline, the proposal dies. There is no ballot; individual property owners must submit letters rejecting the idea. The proposed zone includes more than 40 owners of 64 tax parcels.
If the plan succeeds, property owners would pay a proportionate share of $80,000 a year over five years. Organizers hope to collect another $20,000 a year in sponsorships and grants.
About a third of the $100,000 annual budget would go toward administrative costs, including a part-time administrator or marketing consultant. The rest of the money would pay for cable television ads, print ads, signs, posters, a Web site, and brochures.
"It's government's way to try to fix something that's not broken," Cipriani said.
Cipriani and others say they aren't opposed to finding ways to improve Mt. Lebanon's business district, but object to assessing large professional buildings based on size and tax valuation, as opposed to retail space in the buildings.
Cipriani's 90,000-square-foot building, with about 1,000 square feet used for retail, would be assessed nearly $17,000 a year, Cipriani said. By comparison, assessments for Mt. Lebanon Floral would be $359; The Saloon, $925; and Rolliers Hardware, $5,221.
Karly Tetlow, owner of Ona Boutique, calls the plan "a great idea" to attract new customers to Mt. Lebanon. Tetlow doesn't own the building where her shop is located, but expects to pay a share of the assessment if the plan is enacted.
"I think it would pay off," she said.
L.W. Molnar & Associates, owner of a building at 604 Washington Road, has no retail space but would be assessed $2,811. Louis W. "Skip" Molnar III said tenants in his building include doctors, dentists and lawyers who would receive no benefit from promotions for shopping in Mt. Lebanon, because their business typically is by appointment only. Molnar doubts such professionals would agree to pay more rent to support an improvement district.
"For the same dollar, they can move elsewhere," he said.
