Bruner Spills the Beans on the Birmingham Principal Shopping District

In my last blog I asked readers to tell me what they want to know about city government. One reader asked for more information about the (PSD). Specifically, how the PSD fits within the city government. This is a great question because many residents and visitors enjoy downtown Birmingham, but few understand the PSD.

First, you need to know the legal framework for the PSD. This includes both state enabling legislation and local ordinances. The Shopping Areas Redevelopment Act is the state enabling legislation that granted Michigan local governments the authority to create principal shopping districts and provides for their powers. The local ordinances are more important to understanding the Birmingham PSD and you can find the Act online at www.legislature.mi.gov so I will not attempt to summarize it here.  

Ordinance No. 1534 allowed the City Commission to designate one or more principal shopping districts within the city. Ordinance No. 1541 created the PSD Board, established its goals, and provided its powers. You can find these online at http://library1.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=10445 in Chapter 82, Article IV of the City Code.

The PSD Board consists of 12 members including the , a resident of the PSD, and a resident of an adjacent neighborhood. A majority of the members are PSD property owners and the rest are representatives of businesses located in the PSD. Members are appointed by the City Manager with the concurrence of the City Commission. The PSD Board meets at the on the first Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. and its meetings are open to the public.

Unlike most of the city government, the PSD is financed by special assessments on commercial properties rather than property taxes. This means the downtown business and property owners that benefit from the PSD’s programs and services are the ones who pay for them. This includes landscaping and maintenance when the weather is nice and sidewalk snow removal when it is not.  

The goal of the PSD Board is, “to promote economic activity in the principal shopping districts of the city by undertakings including, but not limited to, conducting market research and public relations campaigns, developing, coordinating and conducting retail and institutional promotions, and sponsoring special events and related activities.” The PSD conducted market research in 2002 and 2007. The PSD conducts public relations campaigns through traditional and social media including Birmingham Magazine, Facebook and Twitter. The PSD hosts several promotions and special events including Birmingham Celebrates Fashion’s Night Out, Day on the Town, Magic of Birmingham, Movie Nights in Booth Park, as well as the Birmingham Cruise Event, Farmers Market, Holiday Tree Lighting, Restaurant Week and Winter Markt.

The PSD Board retained a retail consultant, Julie Fielder, in July 2009 to recruit boutique-sized regional and national retailers to downtown Birmingham.  The Board believes these types of stores will help all downtown Birmingham businesses by increasing advertising and foot traffic. If Julie brings a retailer to downtown Birmingham and they like a particular space she helps facilitate the lease negotiation process. She also serves as a consultant to landlords on tenant recruitment and retention. Julie was instrumental in the recent leasing of the former Sherman Shoes space at the corner of West Maple Road and Pierce Street to Paper Source, a seller of envelopes and handmade paper products from around the world with 44 locations around the country.

Thanks for the question and keep them coming. Please send your comments and questions to rbruner@bhamgov.org. I may not be able to reply to each e‐mail but I will address common concerns and questions here.