Politics & Government

Alessio Calls PBID Process 'Absurd'; Council Mandates Specific Data

The council voted unanimously to direct staff to contact the PBID formation committee, saying they must give report on "specific numbers and data" in 45 days.

As the process for establishing a Property Based Busines-Improvement District (PBID) in the downtown Village drags on, frustration at a perceived lack of transparency from the PBID formation committee has grown.

Amid that frustration, the La Mesa City Council voted April 23 to direct city staff to contact the committee and mandate that they come back in 45 days with a report on the specific progress of the petition phase.

The issue was raised last Tuesday as a council-initiated agenda item, with councilmember Ernie Ewin wanting to get a public update on the PBID proponents’ efforts at obtaining support from property owners beyond the “50 percent plus one” criterion, which would officially move the project to the voting phase.

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Yet at the meeting, there was no one in the audience from the formation committee, and any pro-PBID individuals who were in attendance sat silent during public comments.

Councilmember Kristine Alessio let her frustrations be known to the rest of the council, saying that it was “disappointing to have this on the agenda.”

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“If [the committee] wants to say, ‘It’s not dead, we’re moving forward,’ then they need to come back in 45 days. And they can’t say, ‘oh, we’re somewhere between 30 and 40 percent.’ I want exact numbers.”

See also: La Mesa Village PBID Topic Page

“Because I’m not gonna vote to (indiscernible) restless property owners, unless I have precise numbers,” she added. “I’ve never been opposed to a PBID. I think it’s a very good mechanism, but this is dragging on. This is absurd.”

The council indicated that no one on the formation committee had been in contact with them since the issue was tabled nine months ago. City Manager Dave Witt also said that he has not been in contact with anyone from the formation committee.

The issue was last brought before the council in July 2012, when the council voted to not move the proposal from the petition phase to the ballot phase. The council did however vote to approve that the PBID steering committee continue to try and garner requisite support for the initiative.

During that July meeting, a representative from the steering committee said that they “had been advised by our counsel not to give specific dollar amounts or percentages at this time.”

Poll: Should Downtown Village Merchants Consider a Slimmed Down PBID?

Nine months later, there are has still been no formal acknowledgement of the group’s progress, which is why Witt said he thinks the impatience is mounting.

“The frustrations that are being brought up is that in the whole time, it really hasn’t changed form at all during that time period, when the committee has modified it, revoted, and altered certain things,” he said.

Another sticking point throughout the process has been the inclusion of certain nonprofit groups and organizations, such as the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, in the project’s scope.

Speaking on behalf of the district, Superintendent Brian Marshall said: “The fear is that education dollars could be used for advertising and marketing a variety of businesses in the village. No one can think this is right. We would see little benefit from the PBID as the District offices are in Zone 2, where the vast majority of beneficiaries are in Zone 1.”

Marshall added that the district’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously on March 27 to oppose the current PBID.

Ewin acknowledged that in his mind certain changes must be made to the current PBID to help restore the balance of power of certain properties.

“It’s possible that [the current proposal] could have a PBID set up with less than 10 properties, because they’re all big and have the percentages,” he said. “There are some nonprofits and other agencies that we believe should not be included, so there are adjustments that can be made.”

Bill Jaynes of All Things Bright and British, one of the most outspoken PBID opponents, agreed with Ewin.

“The properties that could put the PBID over the top are the same 10 properties that would control every major decision made in a PBID, which would encompass more than 200 properties,” he said. “So you could have 10 property owners controlling the fate of 190 others.”

But Jaynes also said that he is willing to support a modified version.

“I would encourage council and the [formation] committee to look at process from the beginning, include outside voices, let [property owners] be heard, and dismiss the idea of ‘one side versus the other.’

“We all want the same thing, ultimately.”

 He then turned to a prop to further illustrate his point, holding up a wooden stake.

“Let’s drive this through the heart of the PBID, and get started from scratch.”

Witt cautioned the council to not take a public stand on the issue, as they are not only the administrators of the process, but also stakeholders themselves.

Still, that didn’t stop councilmember Ruth Sterling from voicing her opinion.

“I don’t want the PBID in its current form, and I don’t want to start all over to the point where it takes another 18 months.”

She asked City Attorney Glenn Sabine, “what it would take to legally bring this to a close?”

Sabine said that the council has no legal authority to do so, and that there is no specific legal time frame on the petition phase. He said the council could only encourage the formation committee to move forward.

So it seems that the ball is seemingly in the court of the formation committee, who must report to the council in45 days, which would mean a presentation at the June 11 council meeting.

Council also made it clear that if the current iteration of the PBID has any chance at moving forward, the formation committee has to be more open with its data and its progress.

“Show us that there’s support for this above and beyond the ones that could make the numbers work,” said Ewin. “I don’t want to have someone come up to me and say, ‘you rammed it down our throat.’”


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