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Health & Fitness

La Mesa Village—Out With the Old, In With the New?

While it may be time to repair sidewalks—and replace or relocate trees—the appearance of La Mesa Village should be protected.

La Mesa Village can be compared to Humboldt County, CA. They're both stuck in a different time period.  The latter in the 1960s, the former in the 1940s. And it works for us.

If you ask anyone, "What makes La Mesa Village so charming?" they will list a myriad reasons—the trees in the street, the cobblestone sidewalks, the old buildings, the Ma & Pop shops, the restaurants and bars, the list will go on and on.  

While it may be time to repair sidewalks—and maintain, replace or relocate trees—the general appearance of La Mesa Village should be protected.  That's what makes La Mesa Village. 

The proposed Streetscape Improvement Project is an all encompassing plan that will address every wish from every facet of life for the last 60 years—but at a staggering cost.  How can the city of La Mesa keep building like there isn't a recession going on?  The new civic center looks great, but can we afford to continue?

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We've increased our sales tax, now a proposed increase to the village property tax. Is the answer to just keep increasing the taxes?  Can't we reduce our spending?

I'd love to see a scaled down version of the Streetscape Improvement Project.  Address safety issues, but not a total re-invention. 

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We talk about "branding," and the main brand of La Mesa Village is the old-fashioned feel.  Everybody is friendly, everybody smiles, everybody is your neighbor, we're safe and comfortable in La Mesa Village. Let's not destroy that.

I feel if we were to scale down the Streetscape Improvement Project — that would lead to a scaled down PBID need.  After this week's PBID meeting, the property tax rates just increased by 40%  using the "sample" numbers:  a Zone 1 property of 10,000 SF parcel with a 5,000 SF bldg and 50 LF  frontage was $1,275 per year — it just went up to $1,785 per year. 

We are children in a candy store — we want it all.  But we must refrain from trying to fix everything at once. We just can't afford everything.

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