As anyone who has read The Peninsula Beacon opinion page knows, there’s some disagreement as to who is responsible for keeping Ocean Beach’s business district clean.
Since August, page 6 of the paper has provided a forum for back and forth discussion on the matter. Some letter writers have placed the onus on business owners by urging them to “clean up their act,” some have recounted their own efforts to keep the community clean and still others have drawn attention to the disarray of the pier and the problem of stickers, graffiti and trash.
But when The Beacon spoke to several community leaders, the consensus was clear: Ocean Beach looks better than it has in years.
Curt Lutz, executive director of the Ocean Beach Community Development Corporation (OBCDC), explained that he has lived in Ocean Beach on and off for his entire life and has witnessed efforts to rise above the dirt.
Denny Knox, executive director of the Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association (OBMA), agreed.
“I think it’s the cleanest it’s ever been,” she said.
Both Knox and Lutz emphasized that keeping a neighborhood clean requires an on-going effort and help from residents.
“People are frustrated,” Lutz said. “It would be nice if we could clean it once and be done, but that’s not the nature of things.”
“There’s a certain personal responsibility,” Knox added. “If you see a bunch of stuff on the ground and it’s not really gross, pick it up and put it in the trash.”

Currently, OBCDC, OBMA and the Ocean Beach Town Council work closely on cleanups and projects.
According to Lutz, OBCDC has focused on revitalization and beautification efforts, implementing a tree planting program for the Voltaire corridor, working with the Dog Beach Dog Wash on year-round beach cleanups and conducting an annual community cleanup and recycling event with the City’s Environmental Services Department. Incidentally, this year’s event sponsored by OBCDC, OBMA and Dog Beach Dog Wash will take place Saturday, Oct. 28, from 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Abbott Street.
The mainstreet association, in turn, has taken on concerns about homeless at the beach and the tidiness of bars and restaurants along Newport Avenue.
“Suffice it to say we have had a huge increase in the number of people in Ocean Beach over the last year,” Knox said. “[It] has been a very popular spot, especially in the 5000 block [of Newport Avenue], which is where many of the bars and restaurants are and nearest to the beach.”
Knox explained that property owners have paid into a fund for the Maintenance Assessment District, which comprises three blocks along Newport. The fund pays to have the street trash containers emptied five to six days a week, rather than just once a week. The money also goes toward monthly powerwashing on Newport’s sidewalks and weekly washing in the vicinity of the Ocean Beach Farmer’s Market. Additionally, landscapers are paid to maintain and cleanup the 57 planters that beautify Newport, Knox said.
Knox also noted that in past years, business owners could hose off their sidewalk every morning. However, the Clean Water Act now mandates that water be recaptured and not allowed to run off into sewers or drains, which is almost impossible for an individual, she explained.
Additionally, OBMA is working closely with the Surfrider Foundation for their “Keep OB-eautiful” campaign, which kicked off this summer following the beach smoking ban on Aug. 17 with the addition of smokeless ash cans along Newport.
Business owners are also doing their part. Ocean Beach Realtor Kirsten Keithly-Rael tackles graffiti head-on and with her own money. Once a month Keithly-Rael hits the streets with her cleaning supplies, scrubbing away the drawings and writing that pops up again almost as soon as it is removed.
“It’s a never-ending, vicious cycle,” she said. “People like to complain but they don’t want to take an active role.”
Keithly-Rael advertised in her newsletter and a Sept. 13 letter to The Beacon, that she was looking for volunteers to assist her in her efforts.

“Not one person since I’ve started this clean up effort almost a year ago has ever signed up,” she said. “Everybody will jump on the bandwagon and complain about the situation, but nobody “¦ has ever offered to help.”
Keithly-Rael was horrified when she discovered that the city’s solution to graffiti was to paint over it with gray spray paint, even over the front of school crossing signs.
“Those signs are so easy to clean; they’re not like cleaning the cement trash cans,” she said. “Now is that not a safety issue for children?”
She said she has cleaned off all the paint and graffiti to reveal the yellow school crossing signs. Keithly-Rael suggested using sealant on problematic areas “” including concrete, brick, metal and wood “” that would make it impossible for a person to graffiti on the surface.
“The paint just beads up,” she explained, then it wipes right off.
Despite the a constant flow of trash and dirt that accumulate in the public right-of-way, Ocean Beach leaders want the community to know that they are working hard to stay motivated and keep the effort going.
“As far as we’re concerned, at this point, we feel like we’ve really stepped it up,” Knox said. “I just don’t think we have enough money to do much more at this point. Unless somebody “¦ or another group would step up and help us with that.”
For more information on the free community cleanup and recycling event, call Phil Balmanno at (858) 573-1260.