Ocean Avenue Association’s Existence Up For Vote

The future of the Ocean Avenue Community Benefit District will soon be in the hands of property owners.

The district was authorized by City Hall for a 15-year term in 2010 after a majority of property owners voted to assess themselves to fund the staff and programs of the nonprofit Ocean Avenue Association. 

The association, its contractors and liaisons in the Office of Workforce Development have worked for years to ensure the district’s renewal, which includes expanding its range to go beyond Ingleside to cover Lakeside Village and Balboa Park BART. Of the many necessary steps for renewing the district, the association most recently completed a crucial one: a petition that won support from 30% of property owners. That step allows for a full vote led by the Department of Elections that will determine its future.

“What I’m told is that we made it over the hump,” said Christian Martin, the association’s executive director. “If we weren’t going to get renewed, it would have happened at the petition phase.”

Martin said it was a testament to the association’s community ambassadors. To prepare for the vote, the association has been hosting workshops that shared its expansion plans and new service budget pegged at $515,000.

“I was pretty happy because I had some property owners who voted no in other parts of the city to a CBD but have really been impressed by the service in Lakeside Village and voted yes,” said Kath Tsakalakis, a board member and dynamo behind Friends of Lakeside Village.

Jackie Hazelwood, the Office of Economic Workforce & Development CBD program director, said the Mayor’s Office was supportive of the renewal, but city-owned properties, of which there are many in the district, did not vote in the petition phase.

Hazelwood added that OEWD and the Mayor’s Office are moving through the process with the Board of Supervisors to allow city-owned properties to have the mayor’s authorization to vote in the affirmative on the ballot.

The San Francisco Department of Elections will mail ballots to property owners on May 23. Property owners will have 45 days to vote. The Board of Supervisors will also vote on the association’s proposed management plan and engineer report.

A public hearing will also be held on July 8. Hazelwood said it will be at 3 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors chambers and will include a live counting of the ballot submissions and an opportunity for the community to share comments.

A weighted majority, based on property size, of 50% approval is required.

If renewed, the district will elect new board members with applications from across the expanded district. If they are not renewed, they will spend the last six months of the year closing down.