Business property owners in parts of Pacific Beach could end up paying for cleaner sidewalks and repaired streets in Pacific Beach.
Community leaders propose that property owners of Pacific Beach businesses join together and charge themselves a fee that would pay for services such as more frequent trash collection, cleaner sidewalks, street improvements and off-duty police officers patrolling along Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard, said Benjamin Nicholls, executive director of Discover Pacific Beach.
Discover Pacific Beach represents approximately 1,300 Pacific Beach businesses, mostly Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard.
“If you drop some gum on the sidewalk it would stay there forever,” Nicholls said “Pressure washing of the sidewalks, nobody does that. This would provide for that sort of service.”
Nicholls said he wants to get the program on a ballot in July for voting members of the Business Improvement District to decide. Each of the business owners and property owners participate on a voluntary basis, he said.
Nicholls said fees collected from the businesses would provide for daily trash pickup along Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard in Pacific Beach. Though the city provides for some of the services, it’s not enough, he said.
He said many other communities such as Little Italy and downtown San Diego have benefited from creating such Maintenance Assessment Districts (MAD).
Funds from the MAD would also pay for two pairs of off-duty police officers to patrol Garnet Avenue Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The officers would deal specifically with security, working at the bars along Garnet Avenue. Additional security would patrol the boardwalk to deal with graffiti and other criminal activity along with homeless issues, he said.
The program also sets aside funds for minor sidewalk repair and other improvements, he said.
The entire program would have a budget of about $470,000, Nicholls said. Property owners would pay into the program based on how much service the businesses in the area receive, he said.
For example, a bar on Garnett Avenue that benefits from trash pickup service and security services would pay more into the program than a small business on Mission Boulevard that benefits only from trash pickup service.
Tom Frost, owner-operator of Beach Cottages, 4255 Ocean Blvd., said he thinks the Maintenance Assessment District would benefit the area greatly.
“This program helps fill in where the city leaves off and the police department leaves off,” he said.
Frost said a clean area with more police would help tourists feel safer.
Others, however, don’t think more fees are the best way to handle the problems.
Richard Peãa, general manager of Plum Crazy Saloon, 1060 Garnet Ave., said the business he helps run already pressure-washes the sidewalk. He added that businesses shouldn’t have to pay for that service if they already do it on their own.
“I think certain things should already be done by their own businesses and that shouldn’t have to be dependent on the city or whoever,” he said.
Jeff Kinney, owner of PB Surf Club Surf Shop, 952 Garnet Ave., said he was not aware about the proposed program. He said he thinks the idea is terrible because fees levied on property owners would just get passed down to renters, resulting in higher prices for consumers.
Kinney said he plays zero role in the Business Improvement District adding that the fees he already pays into the district now should pay for a lot of the services in the proposed program.
“I’m all for a cleaner and better PB, but before we put our hands out for more money, why don’t we look to make sure we’re being as efficient as possible with money we already have,” he said.
Created in 1997, Discover Pacific Beach represents the Pacific Beach Business Improvement District. The district uses funds to install street lighting, promote BeachFest and other outdoor festivals and remove graffiti.
For more information on Discover Pacific Beach Business Improvement District visit www.pacificbeach.org.