About The CMCBD

About Us

The Central Market Community Benefit District (CMCBD) is a non-profit, community-based organization formed in 2006 to provide programs and services to improve the quality of life experienced in the public realm in Central Market.

The CMCBD believes that improving the overall cleanliness and safety of the district will increase pedestrian activity, strengthen existing small businesses and cultural institutions, attract new investment, and enhance the public right of ways for people of all incomes, ethnicities and ages, including residents, business and property owners, workers, and visitors in the area.

Services

The CMCBD was established to fund a range of services including public space beautification and safety, marketing, community outreach, and special events. Visit here to learn more about these services.

The Leadership

The CMCBD is managed by an Executive Director and a 10-member Board of Directors elected to two-year terms through an open public process. The Board of Directors consists of five property owners, three community-based organizations (at least two of which must be residents or community-based organizations representing the interests of residents in the CMCBD) and two non-property owning merchants from the district.

The Board meets every month and all meetings are open to the public. The Board's activities are governed by the organization's bylaws, its contract with the City of San Francisco, the Management District Plan, San Francisco's Community Benefit District Ordinance, and California property and business improvement district law.

Funding

The CMCBD is funded through a special assessment based on a blended rate derived from each lot's linear (public) frontage, area and gross building square footage. The Department of Elections sent ballots to all property owners in the district in October 2006 and a substantial majority of those responding (68%) voted in favor of the proposed special assessment. On October 31, 2006 at a public hearing, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors reviewed the ballot results and adopted a resolution approving the creation of the CMCBD.

The annual budget for the CMCBD is approximately $535,000. The budget is generated from the special assessments collected from every property owner in the district. The budget is allocated into the following spending categories: 65% Public Space Beautification and Safety, 5% District Identity and Streetscape Improvement, 20% Administrative and 10% Contingency. These categories are governed by the Management District Plan which was adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors after extensive community input.