Allan Appel Photo
The Chabad House.
They already have wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Soon they will also have membership in the Chapel West Special Services District (CWSSD).
The Chabad Student Center (the first letters of the Hebrew words for wisdom, understanding, and knowledge form the acronym Chabad) at 36 Lynwood Place is one of 15 properties that recently petitioned to join the Chapel West Special Services District.
The other properties include four more on little Lynwood Place, four on Park Street, two on Crown Street, two on Dwight Street, and one each on Elm and Edgewood. Chapel West welcomed them into the district in a March 28 vote.
By a unanimous vote Wednesday night, the City Plan Commissioners approved the move.
The new parcels in effect expand the boundaries of the district, said CWSSD’s business manager, Brian McGrath.
Each new property owner has a 2.5‑mill surcharge added to its regular tax bill. The money gets separated out and sent to Chapel West.
What do property owners get in exchange?
McGrath said they get added to the street sweeping route, which currently covers 2.5 miles, has a crew of three, and costs the district about $100,000.
McGrath said the addition of the new properties, including about a dozen added two years ago, might mean the district has to hire additional cleaning staff.
Membership also gives the property owners a place to call, a kind of mini-City Hall, where problems like burned-out street lights or flooded catch basins get taken care of more efficiently, McGrath said.
Generally speaking the business-focused district does not seek out small three, two, and one-family houses.
In the case of this year’s additions, McGrath said that perhaps 10 of the 15 added Wednesday night belong to Pike International, so that company as a group in effect is joining up.
Looking south on Lynwood Place.
The new additions will bring to 228 the number of parcels in the district. It extends roughly along Chapel from Sherman to York and extending east and west along York, Dwight, Park, and Howe.
Chapel West Special Services District was established by the Board of Aldermen in 1986 and is one of the fastest growing of the special service districts, according to McGrath.
The establishing ordinance requires that each property owner seeking to join the district must individually petition in writing.
“Whenever they add a property, they must come back to the City Plan Commission, by ordinance,” said CPC staffer Joy Ford.
After the CPC vote, the new addition must get formal approval of the Board of Aldermen.
Why can't these be expanded further? Business improvement districts have been shown to reduce crime by 50% to 80%.
We could probably hire 5 or 10 "ambassadors" for the price of each new beat cop. In hundreds of other cities, these type of staff help maintain order, resolve small issues that police officers do not need to be burdened with, and serve as the eyes and ears of the police force.
What would our streets, neighborhoods, and robbery figures look like if these districts were expanded beyond a handful of favored city blocks?