By Robert Hausenbauer The Ocean Park Omelette Parlor Observation on Ocean Park Editor:
Please wake up Main Street merchants. Once again Main Street merchants are letting landlords and (City Hall) dictate what is good for their businesses.
Any assessment to maintain clean sidewalks and maintain the festoon lighting will immediately be passed on to lessees by landlords under the triple net leases you have signed. This is nothing the small merchant on Main Street should afford; the economy is weak and the potential for a weaker economy is real. This decision should be made by merchants and lessees only.
Merchants have the responsibility to keep their sidewalks and storefronts clean and attractive if they wish to draw customers to their establishments. (City Hall) has the responsibility to maintain a clean street if it wants to realize tax revenue from this district. It is the casual retailer who makes no effort or fails to understand the importance.
Every business on Main Street should be sweeping their sidewalk at least once daily and maintaining an attractive storefront always. This is good retailing. Don’t forget you are in a high end tourist oriented business district.
As for the $88,632 in assessment that will be passed directly to you, isn’t that similar to the assessment dollars given to the Main Street Merchants Association?
Half of that budget is consumed by administrative cost — demand to see the budget. The administration of this organization should be voluntary and if not the city should seek agreement from merchants to use that assessment to clean the sidewalks regularly and maintain the festoons. Retailers, by far, are more capable of promoting their stores than the Main Street Merchants Association.
As merchants you know that you are already paying an assessment for the Main Street District and your business license depends upon your payment.
Do you believe it should be doubled or increased in any way with the simple wave of the hand of landlords or City Hall?
Do you believe that any new assessment in the future will not be passed directly on to you? Think of the triple net lease you have signed. The taxes you are paying for now are suppose to provide for clean, safe streets.
It is my strong opinion that the purpose of the Main Street Merchants Association is to foster the interests of the assessed and create constructive dialogue with City Hall.
At no point in time should that organization encourage assessments that will be passed directly to merchants and lessees without the full input of those that the new assessment will ultimately be passed to. … City Hall should not be looking to create new assessments at this time unless their master plan only includes landlords and developers.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 4, 2008. Read the original PDF.