About
What are PBIDs?
PBIDs stand for Property Based Improvement Districts, or public-private partnerships. They basically give jurisdiction over public space within the district to businesses, they also get money from the city/county and have members of the city council and county board of supervisors sitting on their boards. This gives these associations unfettered access to influence public policy, which results in a power structure where profitability is the top concern. It also causes gentrification by white washing the communities they encompass, pushing out "Undesired" long time residents/businesses and causing rent spikes.
Our Mission
Want to get involved in the fight against gentrification in your community?
Boycott Sacramento PBIDs is a grassroots autonomous group that aims to:
- Dismantle PBIDs and return power over public space and public policy to the people of Sacramento
- Push for a more transparent city council that will adhere to the needs of the residents over corporate interests and combat the negative impacts of gentrification on our community.
The focus of our efforts are their board members and the businesses they own.
As it stands, these PBIDs act as a shadow government that dictates what happens within the borders of their districts, including public spaces. Many of our elected officials are board members of these business districts, which causes a MASSIVE conflict of interest, giving business districts full access to elected officials and enabling them to influence public policies.
One way these business districts negatively affect the community at large is their focus on raising property values, which forces all business within their borders to pay an extra tax. This causes rents to rise, shuddering smaller family businesses and displacing local residents. Small businesses have little say on decisions within their own districts, as that power is reserved for the highest bidder (pun intended), and tenants often have no say at all. This tends to adversely, and disproportionately affect people in poverty and people of color.
The PBIDs have pushed to further criminalize the existence of our unhoused neighbors and increased raids on the people now forced to sleep outside, under the guise of “public health and safety”. These PBIDs push out “undesirables” including families that have lived here for generations. Over-policing and skyrocketing rents are just two symptoms leading to increased displacement in an effort to create a more “business friendly” environment at the expense of local residents. These efforts work to dissolve local networks and weaken the entire community as more local residents are forced to move.
One of many conflicts of interest was Mayor Darrell Steinberg's proposal to have churches shelter the unhoused, an Idea which was presented to the public but shot down by the PBIDs - the same PBIDS that Darrell Steinberg oversees as a board member. A conflict that begs the question: is Steinberg for the betterment of the public or the betterment of self interests?
We strongly encourage community members to participate in autonomous, nonviolent actions aimed at the board members of these business districts and the businesses they own. Remember that employees of these businesses are often dealing with the same issues as other residents, and are not to blame for the decisions made by the business owners. We will be utilizing tactics range from letter writing to direct action, and may include nonviolent civil disobedience. Another way to take action is to boycott businesses owned by these board members and support your local mom and pop shops.
Who we are
Faygo and several Sacramento residents are heading this local grassroots initiative.
Interested in organizing with us? Contact boycott.sac.pbids@gmail.com.
