The Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) approved the 2011 budget for the Maintenance Assessment District (M.A.D,), a voter-approved tax on property owners largely to maintain the plantings along La Jolla Boulevard. The BRCC approved the M.A.D. budget for fiscal year July 2010 through June 2011 at its Feb. 2 meeting. The City Council will approve the budget during the budget process starting in late February. Single-family homes will be assessed $78 for the M.A.D. condo dwellers $55 and commercial property owners assessed an average $395, depending on the size of the property. “This will probably be the normal rate from here going forward, with a few cost-of-living adjustments,” said M.A.D. designated representative Joe La Cava. Last year, property owners saw uncharacteristically low assessment fees due to a large reserve the BRCC felt uncomfortable sitting on. Single-families were assessed $25, condos $20 and commercial property owners around $150. Greening the boulevard The lion’s share of the budget — $84,000 — pays contractor Brewer Lawn and Landscape Maintenance to maintain the shrubs and trees planted along the median and on the roundabouts along La Jolla Boulevard. The budget includes $12,700 for irrigation, electricity and storm drain fees. The contract is actually only for $56,000 but the M.A.D. budgets $84,000 for landscaping to build a rainy day fund for unseen problems such as storm damage. The money rolls over from year to year if it’s not used. The BRCC has also set aside $20,000 to pull out the clusters of spiky Fortnight lilies with small flowers near the roundabouts that have grown too high and block pedestrian and motorists’ views, causing a safety hazard. The Beautification Committee plans to replace the Fortnight lilies with Day lilies, low-growing rosemary and dwarf myrtle. An example of the new plantings can be seen outside the CVS store on La Jolla Boulevard. “We surveyed all the plants and found that the safe line of sight is 26 inches [for plant height],” said Barbara Dunbar, a member of the Beautification Committee. “If you’re a pedestrian or a child or a person pushing a stroller, you have to be able to see cars and that 26-inch height is for low-riding cars to see other cars, bicyclists and mopeds.” M.A.D. chair Joe La Cava said the community shouldn’t be responsible for paying for the new planting since the city made the mistake of using the wrong material but that the M.A.D., “has the funds to afford that.” Lighting the boulevard BRCC has set aside $229,000 in capital improvements to erect four light structures, each 24 feet high, along the median between Midway Street to Camino de la Costa. Each pole would feature two lights hanging over the median with fixtures to attach holiday decorations or the Bird Rock pelican symbol, if desired. The lighting is intended to be subtle and decorative, and is not the same intensity as streetlights, according to committee member George Sutton. Money from the budget’s reserves rolled over from past years will pay for the street lighting, which the City Council must approve. Resident Steve Burr questioned the need for street lighting. “Are we trying to bring a lot of people to Bird Rock?” he asked. Sutton assured the group the lighting will create pleasant ambiance and not light pollution. Administrative costs The 2011 M.A.D. budget will also pay Dave Kirkwood $19,000 to manage the day-to-day operations such as overseeing the landscape contractor and working with the city. The city charges $5,730 to manage the M.A.D. contract, which includes collecting assessment fees, processing the BRCC budget and reviewing reimbursement requests, according to La Cava. The city also visits Bird Rock four times per year to survey the landscaping. In miscellaneous expenses, BRCC has budgeted $1,320 for Halloween security. To view the budget, visit www.birdrock.org and click on “forums.”