Business leaders and politicians agree on two things: Downtown Miami should bustle with residents, shoppers and tourists drawn to shops, restaurants and nightlife. But it's a long way from now to there.

So how do they make it happen?

Some businesses and Miami's Downtown Development Authority say one of the best ways is to establish what's called a business improvement district for the beleaguered Flagler Street area -- assess property owners to pay for cleanup, security and other improvements.

Read below to see what some of the major players who will shape the future of downtown have to say about what's already in the works, and what's planned -- for the next few months, the coming year, and beyond.

Downtown Development Authority

Expanding cleanup crews and adding an "eyes-and-ears" information team that walks the Flagler Street area responds to immediate needs, Executive Director Dana Nottingham said, and lays a foundation for a long-term solution: creating a BID for the area.

Nottingham thinks a business improvement district -- who would run it hasn't been determined -- could be up and working within two years.

Short-term: Expand the Downtown Enhancement Team, from 14 to 20 workers, to help clean the streets, respond to major messes such as graffiti, and overall supplement the city's work.

By Oct. 1, start the Ambassadors program, eight uniformed workers who will provide information and added surveillance -- they will be connected to police via walkie-talkies.

Medium-term: Continue the $300,000 tenant improvement program, which provides grants of between $10,000 and $20,000 to businesses in and around Flagler. Other plans include a $150,000 facade improvement program and several other projects that focus on beautification and pedestrian accessibility throughout downtown.

Longer-term: Within two years, establish, if the interest is there, a BID.

The City of Miami

Mayor Manny Diaz has immediate plans to renovate and beautify the Flagler area and within months, provide more police presence. But he questions whether a BID makes sense because "you have a DDA already."

"Quite frankly, I think the DDA has to prove that it's doing a good job with what it's doing today, " he said, adding it already is funded by a tax on property owners. "I don't know what a BID necessarily adds." Commissioner Marc Sarnoff said he would be interested in creating a BID as long as it didn't involve the same leadership at the DDA.

"It would have to be an entirely new board of directors, " he said. "Some of them have been at it for 16 or 18 years, and if you haven't gotten that, you shouldn't get another day."

Downtown Miami Partnership

The No. 1 priority of this merchants group, whose role includes marketing for 200 area businesses: Create a business improvement district, said project manager Robert Geitner.

The group sees the BID stretching from North and South First Streets, and from Biscayne Boulevard to a west boundary yet to be decided.

The group is also focused on lobbying for faster city review of companies' new business plans, which Geitner says "can take months and should take weeks." Delays impede recruiting new business, he said.

Short-term: Push for a way to streamline permitting for building improvements, both plan reviews and inspections.

Medium-term: Settle the details of the BID: geographic boundaries, funding, services it will provide beyond what the city already does.

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