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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/05/2008 12:02 PM |
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I posted this elsewhere not mentioned as may remove post. Adding it here for those that don't go there.
Submitted by jpinpb on June 5, 2008 - 11:53am.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080605-9999-1cz5pb.html
West side property tax levy proposed
Funds sought to pay for cleanup, security
By Helen Gao
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 5, 2008
PACIFIC BEACH – Packed with bars, restaurants and boutiques, Pacific Beach's commercial corridor along Garnet and Grand avenues attracts hordes of visitors, and along with the crowds come litter, graffiti and security problems.
Graphic: Proposed district
Discover Pacific Beach, a business improvement association, is pushing to create an assessment district in the western part of the neighborhood where commercial and residential property owners would have to pay special taxes to fund maintenance and security on their streets.
The owners of some large businesses, such as Tower 23 Hotel and Catamaran Resort Hotel, support the proposal, but the plan is drawing the ire of some homeowners. They say the assessments should be limited to businesses because they are the ones who attract the visitors.
AdvertisementThe district would cover 2,173 parcels and generate $474,505 a year, based on a report commissioned by San Diego. Assessments would vary depending on the level of service a property owner receives, the size of a property and other factors. Taxes in fiscal 2009 would range from $3.63 to $20,182 per parcel. The rates would increase up to 5 percent a year.
The assessments would go toward removing litter, cleaning up graffiti, power-washing sidewalks and tending to landscape, as well hiring security guard “ambassadors” and off-duty police officers.
Two teams of officers would patrol Friday and Saturday nights along Garnet and Grand avenues from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. The ambassadors would work Mission Boulevard from Tuesday through Thursday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Marcie Beckett, who would be assessed $66 a year for her single family home, calls the tax unfair. She also said most homeowners who are affected by the proposal are uninformed about it.
“I am not opposed to a maintenance assessment district,” Beckett said. “I think the businesses are the ones who should be paying for this, not the residents. Some of the businesses are financially gaining from the activities that are generating the need for this demand (for services).”
PB forum
What: A public forum on a proposed maintenance district
When: 6:30 p.m. today
Where: Discover Pacific Beach's office, 1503 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach
But Mike McNeill, president of the Discover Pacific Beach board of directors, said similar assessment districts in places such as Little Italy have worked well.
“Our community needs funds to do all the things that the residents and business owners want,” McNeill said.
The San Diego City Council is scheduled to discuss the proposal Tuesday. If the council gives its go-ahead, ballots would be sent to affected property owners.
The votes of owners who would be levied the largest assessments would be weighed more than those cast by people paying lesser amounts. For that reason, business owners would likely have more influence on the outcome of the vote than residential property owners.
Majority support is needed to approve the district. The City Council would have to grant final approval.
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/05/2008 12:02 PM |
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I guess the property tax obtained during the real estate boom wasn't enough to take care of the neighborhood. I'm not happy w/this. Come on. Places on the boardwalk were selling for 5 million. The tax on one place alone should go a long ways. Unbelievable how the "mismanagement" is so rampant. Still not enough in their pockets. Let's invent some "special" tax. Don't want to pay fire or police more money, let's hire "security guard ambassadors." WAFJ. If I want to hire a security guard, I don't need a third-party city to charge me for it. Fine if businesses want to pay. Our tax dollars get spent there and then some. They can write it off, I imagine. This is just so beyond excessive. First proposing paying for parking. Now the taxes. Getting a little much. W/potential to raise it 5% every year. WTF!!
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ScottSD
Posts:162
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| 06/05/2008 12:21 PM |
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| like you said. it's mismanagement. why make your operations more efficient when you can not do anything and up taxes? |
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jakob
Posts:494
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| 06/05/2008 12:32 PM |
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| Thanks for posting... I can't see this passing. Maybe in LJ, but not in PB. Plus they couldn't pick a worse time to talk about raising taxes. Cleaning up the streets sounds great, but pay for this by cutting some wasteful spending. We need more taxes? Anyway, don't we have enough police around Garnet at night? I got a $120 jay-walking ticket one Thursday night crossing Garnet, from one of the many police there, so I may be a little biased. |
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/05/2008 4:50 PM |
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| It sucks about the police on Garnet, BUT we need them there "just in case." That is the problem. They have to have a presence there b/c of all the fights that erupt in the bars. The downside is they get bored and give trivial jaywalking tickets. But w/the stabbings and such that have occurred and the bar fights, I guess I'd rather have them there than see people get killed b/c you looked at someone the wrong way. Just a couple of weeks ago a bouncer got stabbed for trying to make someone leave who was causing trouble. What happened to just getting drunk, picking up a girl and getting laid. Now it's like they're drinking macho juice and all they do is get in fights. The police need to be there too to get all the drunk drivers off the road. This started when the 18 yo DUI hit and run a guy on Garnet not too long ago. Someone called it in and followed the guy. The police caught up to them before they got to the 5 Freeway. Guy he hit died (btw - jaywalking) Still, though, as much as I hate them, that's who we call when there's trouble. Can't pick up one end of the stick without picking up the other end. But if you're a business enjoying the income from all the tourists who come to PB and trash the town, then you foot the bill. I think I might just go to the meeting today. I'm pissed. And I don't even own there yet. |
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/05/2008 5:04 PM |
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What if the cops weren't around. Even when they're around, there's trouble:
PB murder
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Betty
Posts:147
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| 06/05/2008 5:29 PM |
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I should think that property taxes take care of the upkeep of the neighborhood - I know it ain't so *sigh*
yet to punish property owners for graffiti, vandalism and increased police activities due to visitors jamming
the beaches and bars, is just preposterous. Let the bar and restaurant owners pay for additional expenditures,
they benefit the most from all the beach goers.
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/05/2008 9:08 PM |
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I went to the meeting. They're trying to railroad homeowners into paying. MAD - Maintenance Assessment District. They didn't notify homeowners. If the City Council sends out ballots, you can vote. PROBLEM is that you get so many votes based on how much you pay. For example, if you pay $50 you get 50 votes. If a business pays $1,000 the business gets 1000 votes. Business will have majority vote and pass it through.
I was MAD. Livid. Furious. Discover PB is behind it. They did a great job. People discovered PB and come from all over to trash the place while business make a $hitload of money and as an added bonus, let's add insult to injury and have the homeowners pay for cleaning up the trash, graffiti, steam cleaning urine and vomit in the streets and extra security from all the drunks that want to fight and stab people. Great plan. Sign me up. /end sarcasm. |
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JAH
Posts:23
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| 06/09/2008 2:41 PM |
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| MADs are just an excuse for cities not to pay for what thye're supposed to pay for. Think of them as HOA's for neighborhoods... can you freaking imagine? They are scams, outright. Instead of paying an assessment, you should complain non-stop to the city to get stuff done. |
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/09/2008 3:34 PM |
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| I wrote emails to all the city council, city attorney and mayor. They have a city council meeting tomorrow at 10 and if I get off work, I'm going. They have MAD in some other neighborhoods and it is a scam, doesn't work, just gets pocketed by other people and sucks more money out of homeowners, who end up getting no benefit. |
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mistermark
Posts:44
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| 06/12/2008 1:16 AM |
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| This is a good argument for the privatization of residential neighborhoods. I live in a gated community and would never go back to living in a "public" neighborhood unless it was very upscale. |
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jakob
Posts:494
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| 06/12/2008 8:03 AM |
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| JP, maybe PB isn't right for you? If the people and businesses want this, should you maybe consider buying elsewhere? Or at least up in the hills. It sounds like you fundamentally object to the whole partying life that is coastal 92109, anyway. Tiesto was at Wavehouse on Saturday and he was incredible. Awesome crowd all down the walk and over the beach, the whole mood was amazing. That's the kind of thing that makes 92109 special. |
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/12/2008 5:36 PM |
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Frankly, people can party all they want. Doesn't bother me. BUT, if you say I need to pay a special tax bill so I can help the bars make money, then I'll have to put my foot down. The bars attract the element, i.e. the people drinking who then trash the place, urinate, vomit, etc. etc. Be responsible for what you are contributing to the community. The bars are making money hand over fist. Be a good neighbor and take care of your crap.
jakob, if I lived next-door to your house and I trashed the front my house and it spilled over into the sidewalk, should it be your burden and responsibility to clean it up. Should we charge you to clean up my mess. It is the principle of the thing. |
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/12/2008 5:39 PM |
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| 0h - and the people don't want this - just the businesses. The businesses have a majority vote if it goes to ballot. That's the problem. Every homeowner can vote it down, but if the businesses vote on it, it'll go through. In any case, at the city council meeting, Discover PB withdrew it so they can "revamp" it. |
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jakob
Posts:494
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| 06/12/2008 9:17 PM |
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| JP, I agree with you that homeowners shouldn't be paying extra for this. You make a good point. My point was we need to keep PB fun, with its own identity, and not a try to make it a poor man's La Jolla. |
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jpinpb
Posts:1476
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| 06/12/2008 9:44 PM |
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I'm not about prohibition. Just FYI, PB/MB have exceeded their alcohol licenses since 1980/1990. PB/MB has a reputation of a party community. That's fine. Nothing wrong w/partying and having fun. I'm all for that. But what happend to being somewhat responsible? Do people have to die having fun? There's just been so many DUIs, hit and runs, deadly accidents, stabbings, shootings, rapes, fights. I DON'T want to make it La Jolla. I'd rather it be more like OB small town. BUT I don't want it to be New Orleans at Mardi Gras and become a dangerous place. Is that bad of me to want it to be safe?
People party in OB and I don't hear about nearly the problems that PB has. Last Friday and DUI bicyclist was weaving all over the road and got hit by a non DUI SUV. Critical condition. Monday - Monday night, not even a weekend, DUI in the taco shop, drunk in public at detox and a fight occupied 3 out of 4 cops. The 1 remaining cop was working on a report. This is about 1:30 a.m. Then a fight breaks out at the Coaster Saloon w/bouncers and patrons that ended up in the streets. Took 10 minutes for a Sgt. from traffic to show up.
So maybe I just don't understand where is the fun. Drinking, partying, dancing, music, guys and girls - all good. DUI, fighting, stabbing, dying - not good. |
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