J. Charles Coughlin and eight others

AZ We See It

This past week, House Bill 2440 narrowly passed the Arizona House of Representatives and is now making its way to the state Senate. This anti-small business bill must be stopped before harming urban communities across the state.

HB 2440 creates hurdles for Enhanced Municipal Services Districts, which are a helpful tool utilized by small businesses in urban core areas as a way to promote economic growth. Currently, there are six EMSDs in Arizona, which have spurred major economic growth and urban revitalization in cities like Mesa, Tempe and Flagstaff.

We are proud to be a part of Roosevelt Row, a walkable, creative district in the urban core of downtown Phoenix, nationally known for its arts and cultural events, award-winning restaurants, galleries, boutiques and live music.

It was recently named a “Great Place in America” by the American Planning Association and the Phoenix City Council recently approved an Enhanced Municipal Services District (EMSD) to continue economic development in our area, which has experienced remarkable growth at a rapid pace.

What service districts do

Enhanced Municipal Service Districts perform the following functions:

Permit property owners to assess themselves a small tax to clean up urban blight, activate empty spaces, improve lighting, promote walkability and enhance public safety.

Permit small businesses to collectively market the area to improve commerce and promote public-private partnerships.

Enhance community volunteerism by creating an entity to organize and promote efforts to revitalize and rejuvenate urban core neighborhoods.

Bill would kill these districts

House Bill 2440 would negatively impact Roosevelt Row and other cities with Enhanced Municipal Services Districts while diminishing the possibility of other communities from forming them ever again.

HB 2440 would:

Change the current law ‘retroactively’ to force the Roosevelt Row Enhanced Municipal Services District to return to square one and nullify two years and thousands of volunteer hours we have spent making this opportunity available to the merchants of our area.

Require that any future such district in the state be formed by requiring that 50 percent of landowners vote to approve the formation of the district.

Currently, state law requires that 50 percent or more of the property owners must object to the formation of the district for it to be stopped.

Changing the requirement to a 50 percent vote to approve the district empowers owners of vacant land, wealthy real-estate speculators and large landowners (many whom are out of state) who have benefited from the volunteer work of local small businesses to avoid supporting the urban revitalization which has enhanced the value of their properties.

In other words, non-present investors get a free ride on the backs of local small businesses who have enhanced the value of their property.

Modification to a 50-percent requirement would be similar to saying an elected official needs the approval of 50 percent of all of the registered voters in his or her district to be elected.

No one would ever get elected to anything if it required taking such extraordinary steps to ensure everyone approves of what you do.

That is not empowering representative government – it empowers a minority of wealthy land speculators who benefit off the work of the many small business owners and expect to pay nothing in return. The changes in HB 2440 feel un-American.

Our country was founded on an entrepreneurial spirit where everyone is given a chance to succeed. We have seen that here at Roosevelt Row where small business owners, local leaders and regular citizens have sacrificed thousands of hours to build a stronger community that attracts businesses, arts, and economic opportunities.

Arizona should be doing everything it can to empower communities like Roosevelt Row, not passing legislation like HB 2440 to crush small businesses and empower wealthy real-estate speculators.

Join us in encouraging the legislature to defeat HB 2440.

J. Charles Coughlin, of HighGround Public Affairs, is a member of the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation. The following Roosevelt Row members also signed their names to this piece: Greg Esser, Matthew Salenger, Carla Wade Logan, Vermon Pierre, Dwayne Allen, Alison Rainey, Bryan Bazley and Cindy Dach.