Property Owners were mailed out PBID petitions on December 29th, 2011 with an informal, requested return date of January 31, 2012. If property owners representing greater than 50% of the PBID assessment return their petitions, the La Mesa PBID Supporters (who were in charge of mailing out the petitions) will submit them to the La Mesa City Council. From there, they will request that the council adopt a resolution to establish the PBID, schedule a public hearing, and send out sealed ballots to property owners within the PBID. Ballots must be returned in sealed envelopes; they will be opened and counted at a public hearing. If “Yes” ballots representing 50%+ of proposed assessments of returned ballots are received, City Council can vote to adopt Resolution of Formation.

We urge you to review the Management Plan (link to the right of this posting), the FAQ’s tab and make an informed decision about the PBID. Please do not hesitate to email lamesaneedsapbid@gmail.com or leave a comment.

As with all information provided on this site, we felt it was important to be open and transparent about who we are (listed alphabetically):

• Jonathan Baron, PBID-zone business owner, Regal Bar
• Rick Bucklew, PBID-zone business owner, Don Keating Cars Service & Repairs, and La Mesa resident
• Mark Fortie, PBID-zone property/business owner, Fortie Information Technologies
• Vickie Fortie, PBID-zone property/business owner, Turpin & Rattan Engineering, Inc.
• Mayor Art Madrid, La Mesa resident
• Lynn McRea, PBID-zone property owner/merchant, McRea & Associates, Inc.
• Arlene Moore, PBID-zone property owner/merchant, and La Mesa resident
• Michael Moore, PBID-zone property owner/merchant, and La Mesa resident
• Shannon O’Dunn, , PBID-zone merchant, O’Dunn Fine Art, and La Mesa resident
• Bill Rattan, PBID-zone property owner
• Frances Settle, PBID-zone business owner/partner, Antiques at the Village
• William Walton, La Mesa resident & concerned citizen
• Jim & Kelly Wieboldt, PBID-zone property owners, business owners, Unique Travel Concepts, and La Mesa residents
• David Woodson, PBID-zone property owner/merchant, Assist 2 Sell Woodson Realty
• Jenna Zeledon, former representative for Auerbach Realty Group (a major PBID-zone property owner) and La Mesa resident

If you would like to contact us, please do so at lamesaneedsapbid@gmail.com.

The Formation Committee that put countless hours into learning about PBIDs, researching, polling, and discussing the issues with concerned property and business owners was made up of volunteers representing a broad cross-section of downtown stakeholders. This included:

• 5 business owners
• 7 owners of both property and businesses
• 1 long-term ground lease holder
• 1 resident-at-large
• 1 City of La Mesa representative (Mayor Madrid)

Their names are a matter of public record. Many of them are involved in this web site and the associated effort to inform property owners, business owners, and fellow City of La Mesa residents about the proposed PBID and its benefits.

The assessments and voting ability of the properties within the proposed PBID zone are designed specifically to be fair. Assessments are based on a formula that considers land size, building size, streetfront, property use, and location within the zone. These are the same considerations any municipality considers in estimating the value of a property. The formula is published in a public document and any property owner within the zone can access the formula to calculate their proposed assessment. The City of La Mesa will be glad to help property owners calculate that assessment.

A property’s voting ability on the proposed PBID board is also based on these formulas. All intended to be fair and public—no surprises. If your property is worth more based on the formula, you have a larger assessment and a larger vote.

But to consider fairness, every assessed property has at least one vote. Even if the largest four property owners were to vote as a block, they would only have 1/3 of the vote. That’s not enough alone to pass the PBID petition or enough to dominate votes on the PBID board (assuming the PBID petition passes).

First, PBID assessments are only paid by properties within the PBID zone. No other properties or individuals are assessed.

For administrative purposes, PBID assessments are included as a separate line item on annual property tax invoices sent to property owners. This makes use of administrative efficiencies. Since the City already has a mechanism for invoicing the properties, as well as the accounting systems for collecting, enforcing, and depositing the assessments, this saves the PBID from having to create a duplicate system—which would be a significant expense.

However, unlike taxes, PBID assessments are—by law—kept separate from the City’s general fund. They are budgeted according to the specific purposes set forth by the PBID and its governing board and can only be used for those purposes. This means the funds collected are ONLY used to benefit the defined PBID zone areas.  Those whose properties are assessed are the direct beneficiaries of how the money is used through the improvement, upkeep, and promotion of the area around their properties.

It’s a nuanced—but very important—distinction.

The PBID Formation Committee dedicated significant time and resources to apply industry-standard due-diligence to formulating the PBID’s recommended annual budget. The committee held numerous conversations with relevant professionals, including inviting some as guest speakers at public Committee meetings. This included security, day porter (similar to janitorial, but focused on a streetscape), landscape maintenance, even input from Nordsrom’s on the professional installation, de-installation, and storage of seasonal holiday décor.  The focus was to understand the going rates of reputable, licensed, and insured professional service firms.

Additionally, any changes to the proposed budget require a vote of the property owners whose property was being assessed. Each year the board would review how well the PBID performed on the previous year’s budget. It is a system of enforced accountability in which any business or public entity with a treasury and a budget engages.

The PBID and the City of La Mesa’s proposed Downtown Village Streetscape Improvement Project are a well-considered partnership. The City already plans to invest more than a million dollars to address needed maintenance for the current sidewalks and landscaping in the downtown area. This is regardless of whether PBID becomes a reality.

However, if property owners elect to create the PBID, the City of La Mesa has committed to invest up to $5 million in a major rejuvenation of the downtown area—including parking, sidewalk, and landscaping redesigns, as well as lighting, and other amenities that will vastly improve the pedestrian-friendliness of the area. This is because the additional sanitation, maintenance, security, and promotional efforts established by the Downtown Village PBID will maintain and support these new features at a level significantly above the “baseline” level established by the City for all City properties. This is also significantly above the level they are/could be supported by the parking commission or the volunteer-based merchant’s association.

The PBID Formation Committee held 14 public meetings beginning in early 2011, seeking input from all La Mesa citizens. Each meeting was publicly announced using the same mechanisms used by the City of La Mesa to announce meetings and call for public input. Each meeting was conducted openly, with agendaed calls to the audience to ensure that everyone who wished to had an opportunity to have their voice heard. Meeting minutes were taken and posted publicly, allowing for review by anyone who sought it. The process was also documented by numerous media, including La Mesa Today and East County Magazine (see the “Media” list in the right-hand column of this page). At all steps of the process, the PBID Formation Committee’s work was completed openly–by citizens, with citizens, and on behalf of the citizens of La Mesa.

The public documentation of the PBID Formation Committee’s work is available on the City of La Mesa’s PBID Information Materials page.

Recognizing the cultural and economic importance of a thriving downtown, the City of La Mesa began exploring the creation of a downtown Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) in 2007. This led to the Feb. 2011 creation of a PBID Formation Committee made up of business owners, property owners and concerned citizens who worked with experts to define the geographical boundaries, governance, and administrative essentials of a Downtown La Mesa Village PBID. Their findings and recommendations are posted in detail  on the City of La Mesa’s Website.

A PBID is a geographically-defined private/public partnership where property owners in the defined area (called a “zone”) agree to invest a designated amount each year into a fund used to specifically for the improvement and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, landscaping, and other public features within the zone. The annual investment is based on the value of the property being assessed.

To facilitate administration of annual PBID investments, they are typically invoiced by the area’s governing city as a separate line item on annual property tax assessments. However, the PBID assessments are distinct from a tax, as funds raised are restricted for use only according to the PBID’s clearly-defined purposes and annual budget. The City only serves as an administrator, not a governor, of the funds. The PBID’s own governing board determines how the funds are used with the guidance of a salaried director.

The proposed La Mesa Downtown Village PBID budget includes enhanced landscape maintenance, additional security and janitorial services, advertising and marketing campaigns, seasonal décor along with many other amenities and services as outlined in the Management Plan. The PBID’s services would be in addition to and substantially above what the City of La Mesa provides as “baseline services” throughout the city.

Examples of successful San Diego-area PBID’s include downtown San Diego, and downtown La Jolla. Examples of a similar form of private/public partnership known as a Business – Based Improvement District (BBID) are found in Adams Avenue, Chula Vista, and Hillcrest.  Little Italy’s district was featured in CNN Money Magazine earlier this year. The difference between a PBID and a BBID is that in a PBID the property owners pay the assessment, while in BID the business owners (typically the tenants of the properties within the zone) pay the assessment. The Formation Committee recommended a PBID for the La Mesa Downtown village because they felt this effort should be spearheaded by property owners who have already made significant investment in the city via the purchase and ownership of land, buildings, and related improvements.

In addition to extensive research and input from experts in PBID creation and administration, the Formation Committee held regular public meetings and sough as much input and commentary as possible from interested and concerned parties.  Meeting minutes and agendas can be found on The City of La Mesa’s website.

About this Web Site

A group of business owners, property owners and concerned citizens – some of whom were part of the PBID Formation Committee -  who support the revitalization of Downtown La Mesa Village developed www.downtownlamesa.org to present a fact-based explanation of the reasoning behind the need for a PBID. Most of the site takes a Question & Answer format to address the many questions posed about the La Mesa Downtown Village PBID.

The site will be updated regularly as new questions need answering, information needs clarifying, or myths need dispelling.

We invite your questions. If we have the answer already, we’ll send you the link. If your question is a new one, we’ll develop an answer, post it, then send you the link. We have also included links to media articles that help explain the formation process, as well as PBIDs in general.

Please feel free to email any questions to lamesaneedsapbid@gmail.com or leave a comment on the site.  We look forward to hearing from you!