SOFTWARE OF PLACE

Starting in the 1970s and for decades after, many communities took a “bricks and mortar” approach to downtown revitalization. We have learned that there are certain physical fundamentals to making downtowns work – attractive storefronts, wide sidewalks, shade and texture from landscape, and good lighting. This is what has become to be known as the “hardware” of place. The basic premise behind the bricks and mortar approach to revitalization is that with new and improved hardware, struggling business districts would be attractive again, gain renewed economic relevance, and attract new shoppers and workers.

The City is strategically intensifying the mixed-use and commercial districts through this Specific Plan and the MSASP. This Specific Plan is a foundational step in this process because it establishes the allowable land uses and development standards to ensure projects within the Plan Area advance the community’s cohesive vision for the built environment. Hardware is only part of the answer. Without an enduring, and well-funded commitment to “software,” the shiny newness of hardware will quickly fade and the revitalization will not be sustainable. In financing terms, this is the difference between capital funding and funding for maintenance and organizational capacity.

In communities where successful development has evolved and grown over time, it’s because investments in hardware have been balanced with a corresponding mechanism to fund and continually update the “software.” Software includes such basics as ensuring the improvements are kept clean and patrons feel safe in the neighborhood. As foot traffic improves, there is a need to pick up trash and other debris more frequently, maintain plants and trees, and steam clean the sidewalks. More street furnishing, lighting, and other public amenities are needed with more pedestrian activity. Because public works departments in most communities cannot adequately fund their downtown’s needs sufficiently, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have risen as a critical tool for revitalizing downtowns. BIDs bring the kind of focused and more intensive attention to the needs and unique issues of downtowns and main streets.

Successful BIDs evolve to go beyond the basics of “clean and safe.” Taking a cue from successful shopping malls and large retail centers, BIDs step in to provide a holistic view of the retail mix, helping to strategize and find tenants that will be synergistic – rather than competitive – with existing businesses. They also take on the role of programming, funding, and operating events and campaigns that draw new patrons and build brand and identity for the downtown while keeping it fresh and interesting. Crowds attract crowds, and vibrant commercial districts require a combination of active uses with engaging frontages and continual “foot traffic” – shoppers, people walking home or to work, and people eating at sidewalk cafes or strolling down the main street. The financing plan below also identifies other potential funding sources for operations and maintenance, such as Community Facilities Districts and Landscape and Lighting Districts. City staff could operate these programs if a BID is not present, but it is always best to include merchants in a successful downtown program.

As demographics continue to shift, Millbrae is ideally positioned to have a great downtown for young and old residents and visitors. It has incredible “bones” because of Broadway. The size of its buildings and storefronts, and the walkable length and varied architecture of downtown streets, provide a great platform for long-term success.

Street improvements made two decades ago have endured, providing a sense of identity without looking dated. Broadway already has much of the hardware needed for long-term success. However, the district lacks an individual or entity that can curate the tenant mix, manage the cleanliness and sense of vitality of the street, and bring both vision and focus to the collective sum of all the businesses in downtown. There is a need to fill the gaps in many of the existing storefronts or vacant lots. This cannot be done ad hoc. Many of the policies in this Specific Plan address infill and mixed-use development to fill the holes in the urban fabric. Additional policies begin to lay the groundwork for an entity that act as the “vision keeper” or “software developer” for downtown Millbrae.