The Downtown Association, established in 1975 to address the needs of Downtown Merchants as a whole, is an advisory body to the City Council funded by sales tax proceeds from its district. While not an actual department of the City, as a government agency it follows the same guidelines as any public entity. All meetings are open to the public and with meeting notices posted at City Hall. Downtown Association boundaries are semi-irregular but form a rectangle around a Downtown core bordered by Santa Rosa, Palm, Nipomo and Pacific Streets. Nearly 600 businesses are licensed within this district. (See map elsewhere on this website).