Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bypassing Bylaws in Golden Hill

The Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District's (MAD) oversight committee is getting a makeover. The Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation (GGHCDC) will replace 8 of the 12 members serving on the volunteer committee with fresh faces.

The GGHCDC will do so through an appointment process, not in an election as was done when the MAD was formed in 2007.

And while GGHCDC officials say they are following the contract they have with the City, some residents believe it's a hack job and that CDC officials, with help from the City, want to remove the unwanted board members who have worked tirelessly to trim away extra fat from the MAD's budget.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Evidence of that trimming came back in July, when several members of the MAD oversight committee successfully lobbied San Diego's city councilmembers to cut next year's assessment ($488,000) in half, claiming that rollover funds from previous years should be spent before new assessments were collected.

It's because of their effort, says Barbara Houlton, an member of the MAD oversight committee that supported the reduction, that the GGHCDC is reconfiguring the oversight committee - her position included.

"[The GGHCDC and the City] were infuriated that we got the city council to reduce next year's assessment by 50 percent, and they are determined to get rid of the people that were instrumental in doing that," says Houlton during a September 17 phone interview. "The City and the [GGH]CDC are in agreement that this oversight committee is a major pain."

"We were expecting one-third to be replaced by a vote," adds Houlton. "So, the oversight committee has turned into an appointed committee instead of an elected one."

But for Pedro Anaya, executive director of the MAD program, nowhere in the City's guidelines does it state that community elections are required for oversight committee members. "The implementation of an election by property owners was something the CDC chose to do initially to establish the committee. Having an election for the initial selection of the [oversight committee] was at the discretion of the [GGH]CDC."

In a September 16 email from Luis Ojeda, program director for the City's Economic Development Division, to Barbara Houlton, Ojeda agreed, adding that the bylaws established by the oversight committee shortly after it was formed don't have any bearing on anything.

"Bylaws are not statutory or legal in nature since the [MAD oversight committee] is not a recognized legal entity, it is an advisory committee," writes Ojeda. "Although the Greater Golden Hill CDC Executive Director may not have the right to make the nomination process decision, the Greater Golden Hill CDC Board of Directors does. The process was approved by the Golden Hill CDC board of directors at the August 20, 2009, board meeting."

Despite the GGHCDC's decision to appoint new committee members, Barbara Houlton says the issue isn't over. She points to a lawsuit filed last year by residents claiming that the city illegally pushed the MAD on the community after voters had rejected it the first time. That case, which could potentially overturn the MAD, will be heard next week.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well

The Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District's (MAD) oversight committee is getting a makeover. The Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation (GGHCDC) will replace 8 of the 12 members serving on the volunteer committee with fresh faces.

The GGHCDC will do so through an appointment process, not in an election as was done when the MAD was formed in 2007.

And while GGHCDC officials say they are following the contract they have with the City, some residents believe it's a hack job and that CDC officials, with help from the City, want to remove the unwanted board members who have worked tirelessly to trim away extra fat from the MAD's budget.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Evidence of that trimming came back in July, when several members of the MAD oversight committee successfully lobbied San Diego's city councilmembers to cut next year's assessment ($488,000) in half, claiming that rollover funds from previous years should be spent before new assessments were collected.

It's because of their effort, says Barbara Houlton, an member of the MAD oversight committee that supported the reduction, that the GGHCDC is reconfiguring the oversight committee - her position included.

"[The GGHCDC and the City] were infuriated that we got the city council to reduce next year's assessment by 50 percent, and they are determined to get rid of the people that were instrumental in doing that," says Houlton during a September 17 phone interview. "The City and the [GGH]CDC are in agreement that this oversight committee is a major pain."

"We were expecting one-third to be replaced by a vote," adds Houlton. "So, the oversight committee has turned into an appointed committee instead of an elected one."

But for Pedro Anaya, executive director of the MAD program, nowhere in the City's guidelines does it state that community elections are required for oversight committee members. "The implementation of an election by property owners was something the CDC chose to do initially to establish the committee. Having an election for the initial selection of the [oversight committee] was at the discretion of the [GGH]CDC."

In a September 16 email from Luis Ojeda, program director for the City's Economic Development Division, to Barbara Houlton, Ojeda agreed, adding that the bylaws established by the oversight committee shortly after it was formed don't have any bearing on anything.

"Bylaws are not statutory or legal in nature since the [MAD oversight committee] is not a recognized legal entity, it is an advisory committee," writes Ojeda. "Although the Greater Golden Hill CDC Executive Director may not have the right to make the nomination process decision, the Greater Golden Hill CDC Board of Directors does. The process was approved by the Golden Hill CDC board of directors at the August 20, 2009, board meeting."

Despite the GGHCDC's decision to appoint new committee members, Barbara Houlton says the issue isn't over. She points to a lawsuit filed last year by residents claiming that the city illegally pushed the MAD on the community after voters had rejected it the first time. That case, which could potentially overturn the MAD, will be heard next week.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Holiday Market At Petco Park, Will Smith’s Dance in the Darkness Tour, Light Shows, Snowfall, Caroling

Events December 12-December 13, 2024
Next Article

National City to junk permissive land-use code

Airbnb regs would be like Chula Vista's
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader