City Extends La Jolla Business Tax

A five-month-long battle over a tax district in downtown La Jolla ended Tuesday when the San Diego City Council voted to continue the controversial Business Improvement District tax.

The year-old BID tax is assessed on several hundred La Jolla businesses, and the money is used on such things as advertising and improving streets in the neighborhood’s commercial area.

Last spring, several merchants formed the STOPBID movement, claiming that the $190,000 in annual taxes was unfairly assessed and penalized some small businesses over more successful ones, such as hotels and attorneys. They also claimed the money was being misspent.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted 6 to 2 to continue the tax district for another year.

“They felt the program was just a year old and that it should be given more of a chance,” said Lisa Gonzalez, a representative for Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer.

Ron Zappardino, president of Promote La Jolla, which oversees the disbursement of the taxes, said the council vote is good news and marks the end of a frustrating struggle that saw businesses pitted against each other.

“This tax is unequivocally good for La Jolla, no matter what the nay-sayers say,” he said. “We’re constantly competing with malls all over San Diego for business, and this gives us the opportunity to do things to remind people that La Jolla is a good place to come to.

“And now we can spend the money that we can’t go to the city of San Diego for,” he said.

Members of STOPBID could not be reached for comment Tuesday.