The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore makes the following declaration of its legislative intent in the enactment of this subtitle. Neighborhood retail shopping districts in Baltimore City, when maintained and operated properly, serve invaluable functions in City life. They provide a convenient marketplace for neighborhood residents and play an important role in the identity of the community. The growth of suburban shopping centers has threatened many neighborhood retail business districts. Many cannot satisfactorily compete with new facilities that offer convenience, adequate parking, pleasing physical environment, diversification of retail services, and a management system that provides for promotional activities and for enhanced sanitation and security services. Retail sales in these neighborhood shopping areas have decreased, and the loss of revenue has caused a gradual disinvestment in the commercial properties, vacancies and, in the worst cases, abandonment by property owners. This disinvestment negatively affects the surrounding residential community, results in the loss of jobs and property taxes to the City and requires the City to assume responsibility for these properties. To counter this trend Baltimore City established the Commercial Revitalization Program. Selected neighborhood shopping districts were targeted for public improvements which would enhance the physical appearance of the area. In return, retail merchants and commercial property owners were required to rehabilitate their properties in conformance with a unified design developed for the area. However, in order for neighborhood business districts to compete more efficiently for business with suburban shopping centers, funds and a management system are necessary to provide advertising and promotional activities and enhanced sanitation and security services for the entire district. The Commercial Revitalization Program has always been founded on self-help by the business community. The merchant associations in neighborhood business districts are voluntary organizations of business persons who have limited time to plan and implement a management program and limited capacity to raise funds. They have indicated to the City a strong need for such a management program and fund raising mechanism. The management program created in this subtitle will harness the energies of the business community and provide it with the necessary funding through a Retail Business District License Fee. Furthermore, the proposed program will enable all business establishments within the boundaries of a given Retail Business District to join in promotional, sanitation, and public safety efforts not economically feasible for many individual businesses without a program of this sort. The City Council finds that this program serves a public purpose and enhances the general welfare of the citizens of Baltimore City. City Code, 1976/83, art. 15, §109 Ord. 82-838 Ord. 09-137 For the Code-wide standard definition of “person”, see <cite data-path="|general">General Provisions Article</cite>, <cite data-path="|general|1|1|1-107">§ 1-107</cite>,.