The Pacific Beach Town Council (PBTC) revisited local crime and safety along with unveiling its budget and work plan for the upcoming year at its monthly meeting Wednesday, March 21.
A two-day police crackdown in Pacific Beach over St. Patrick’s Day weekend resulted in 76 arrests and 59 misdemeanor citations, San Diego Police Lt. Brian Ahearn said.
Most of the arrests were for public intoxication, and the majority of citations were for open container violations and public urination.
“It was a tremendous success,” Ahearn said.
Patrol officers from the Northern Division and Beach Team set up a command post at 1100 Garnet Ave. Friday and Saturday, March 16 and 17.
Capt. Boyd Long from the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) authorized the overtime hours and ABC grant money enabled extra deputies from Escondido and Coronado to staff a prison van.
A squad devoted to DUI arrests made four drunken driving arrests on Friday and seven on Saturday.
Ahearn estimated that roughly 90 percent of the 76 people arrested were sent to detoxification centers.
A driver who fatally struck a young man on the 800 block of Agate Street Saturday, March 24, “did absolutely nothing wrong,” Ahearn said.
The driver fled the scene after a group of men who appeared to be intoxicated surrounded the vehicle he was sharing with a female companion. The driver’s escape was “not criminal in nature,” Ahearn said.
Ahearn said police are closer to installing surveillance cameras at the Mission Beach lifeguard tower and the Belmont Park parking lot. Police will remotely monitor the cameras from a secure network.
In addition to acting as a deterrent, Ahearn said the cameras will allow officers to respond before a crime escalates, witness crimes in progress and archive images that can later be used as evidence.
“We really want to bring this technology to Pacific Beach,” Ahearn said. A camera at the foot of Garnet Avenue “opens up all of Garnet,” he said. “If the money’s there, it’s really simple.”
The city’s finances, however, are complicated, so police are hoping to secure private donations to fund additional cameras.
“Expansion has always been the secondary goal,” Ahearn said.
Police are also focusing on transients and crime in Rose Creek Canyon.
“There are some unbelievable encampments,” Deputy City Attorney Teresa Martin said. The vast area is home to two-story structures, televisions and even full-stocked bars, Martin said. “It’s kind of a jungle in certain areas.”
It’s also a hotbed of crime, including theft and drugs, Martin said.
The area is dangerous not only to the immediate community but also to the environment, she said, because trash and urine from the area eventually flow into Mission Bay.
“It’s an environmental, safety and aesthetic problem,” Martin said.
Once the area has been cleared of transients and debris, the Rose Creek Alliance hopes to create recreational trails extending from Clairemont to Mission Bay.
The Rose Creek Cottage Fund appears to be roughly $5,000 in the red, according to the town council’s budget statement for January through December 2006.
That figure is “a little misleading,” said PBTC Treasurer Britta Justesen, because it does not include a grant awarded to pave the parking lot and make other improvements to the Rose Creek Cottage.
The town council’s budget was bolstered by a membership campaign of mailings and community outreach that roughly doubled the size of the PBTC ” and its revenue. Dues from members were $8,160 in 2005 and $15,035 in 2006, Justesen said.
Planned fund-raisers such as BeachFest and a wine tasting to benefit Pacific Beach Recreation Center will also bring in necessary funds, said PBTC president Ruby Houck.
In addition to regularly scheduled meetings and networking events, the PBTC has also scheduled its Police and Emergency Services Appreciation Night (PAESAN), a holiday parade, PB Day at the Fair, Concerts in the Park, surf contests and a Pasta Day.
“We’re booked,” town council vice president Rose Galliher said. “The dance card is full.”
PBTC is also helping Discover Pacific Beach find volunteers and chairpersons for October’s BeachFest. To assist in the family-friendly beach event, call (858) 273-3303.
Parking meters and residential parking permits could soon become familiar sights in Pacific Beach. The Pacific Beach Community Parking District (PBCPD) is using a $25,000 grant to hire Walker Consultants to assess Pacific Beach’s parking problem and make specific suggestions for improvements, said town council director Patrick Finucane, who represents the PBTC on the parking board.
Two possible solutions are parking meters along Garnet Avenue and residential parking permits.
“There are a lot of good things about that and some bad things about that,” Finucane said.
“The ocean is there to be enjoyed by everyone,” said one attendee.
Meters could be an effective way to “get money from people who use our community,” town council director Inese Pavars said.
Up to 55 percent of meter revenue would go back into Pacific Beach, Finucane said.
The town council should discuss residential parking permits and meters before the PBCPD approves either measure, past president Don Mullen said.
“I represent your views,” Finucane said.
The parking board would also like input from the community, he said. The PBCPD meets at the second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Taylor Library. For more information, call (858) 273-3303.
Attendees with comments about speed bumps and signage at Riviera Drive were urged to bring the matters to the town council’s beautification subcommittee.
The town council’s fledgling Specific Event Committee recently voiced concerns over StayClassy.org’s April 14 charity pub crawl, but did not deny the permit.
The PB Bar and Grill requested to use their parking lot to sell food, serve alcohol and have bands perform.
“It sounds like a block party to me,” said one attendee.
It’s private property, said subcommittee member and PBTC Director Eric Swenson.
The permit subcommittee will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, at the Discover PB offices, 1503 Garnet Ave. The public is encouraged to attend.
The PBTC will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, at the Earl & Birdie Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St.