SAN DIEGOSAN DIEGO — The city of San Diego decided not to renew a management contract with a local nonprofit after months of complaints from some Logan Heights property owners about poor service and resistance to public criticism during meetings.
The Central Commercial District Revitalization Corp. will no longer manage sidewalk sweeping, trash collection, tree trimming and graffiti removal for the maintenance assessment district that includes Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, Grant Hill and Stockton, officials said.
The nonprofit had managed the district for more than 20 years, with an annual budget of more than $200,000. In fiscal 2020 the nonprofit received $259,217 in revenues and spent $252,271. For fiscal 2021-2022, it was projected to receive about $273,500 and to spend $266,106.
The city said it will manage the tax district and another nonprofit, Urban Corps of San Diego County, will provide services to the neighborhoods, a city spokesman said Wednesday.
Urban Corps already contracts with various maintenance assessment districts in San Diego and other cities, providing community improvement services such as weed abatement, graffiti clean-up, street sweeping, power washing and tree trimming.
Maintenance districts are typically formed by property owners to tax themselves to pay for services that go beyond what is provided by the city. There are 64 such districts in the city.
In May a group of property owners asked the city to revoke the contract with Central Commercial or to not renew it when it expired on June 30.
Last month the city’s Economic Development Department described problems with how Central Commercial implemented requirements in its contract, listing the issues as “below standard performance or default.”
Elizabeth Studebaker, assistant deputy director of the city’s Economic Development Department, wrote in a June 2 letter to Central Commercial that it had failed to respond to complaints from property owners and to hold enough public meetings in 2020.
The letter also said the nonprofit did not make its financial documents available on its website and had spent more money than it should have on istration costs.
Property owner John Mireles said Thursday that it’s important for the city to listen to community voices and to give property owners a say in how the maintenance district is run.
“It’s encouraging that we had the city listen and take action,” Mireles said.
Kurt Krasne, a business owner who is on the district’s board of directors, disagreed.
He said in an email that the city did not give enough advance notice of the change and that other property owners are just beginning to find out and they’re not happy about it.
“These issues were brought by 3 property owners out of the 301 property owners, many who own multiple parcels,” Krasne said. “They did not due any due diligence talking to other property or business owners.”
Don Shuckett, executive director of Central Commercial, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Shuckett said in May that he disagreed with the complaints and believed the nonprofit was doing a good job in the maintenance district.
The maintenance assessment district’s boundaries include Imperial Avenue, from Interstate 5 to 32nd Street; Commercial Avenue, from Interstate 5 to 28th Street, and National Avenue, from 28th Street to 32nd Street, as well as side streets between Imperial and Commercial avenues. The area is a mix of industrial businesses, small storefronts and homes.
