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).