{news: The Beach Reporter article 11.20.08}

North Manhattan Beach works on improvement plans
by Julie Sharp

With faded painted crosswalks and sidewalk trees that look more like nature’s leftovers, the North Manhattan Beach business district has been longing for improvements and more city attention, and shop owners hope to get both with their new plan.

A newly installed seven-member Business Improvement District advisory board voted Nov. 12 to set monthly meetings and approved task-assigned subcommittees that will plan and budget projects from an approximate $400,000 savings account. This money is from a parking improvement fund which dissolved in 2004 after it was determined that acquiring more parking for the area was a futile goal, since there is no space. The district, which stretches along Highland Avenue from 33rd Street to 43rd Street in addition to a portion of Rosecrans Avenue, also has an annual fund of about $18,000 to $19,000 derived from business fees to spend at its discretion.

“We are learning how to present our ideas to the city. We can’t just have an idea, it has to be an organized plan,” said BID Chairman Melissa Enriquez Roy.

Members of the advisory board represent a wide range of businesses in the area from Upper Manhattan Lounge and Baja Sharkeez to Sur La Mer and Volk’s, and also includes one member who is a resident. It was determined by existing BID board members that a resident board member would be a key addition since the City Council values resident input. Enriquez Roy, who has now been chairman for about one year, pointed out that researched, thorough plans rather than just good ideas will also get things moving with the city.

“In order to get things done and approved by the city, we need polished proposals with information so they can make decisions,” said Enriquez Roy.

Things have already started to happen for North Manhattan Beach and in an effort to hasten the area’s slow image evolution, the BID decided to change the area’s name in December 2007 from El Porto or North End to North Manhattan Beach.

Part of the dissolved parking fund savings account, about $20,000 of it, has already been spent on 20 North Manhattan Beach banners which were placed along Highland Avenue traffic poles from 33rd Street to 43rd Street and a portion of Rosecrans Avenue.

Just recently, on Nov. 18, the City Council approved the purchase of 36 trashcans and recycling cans for practical reasons and the area’s beautification — much like the ones along The Strand and in downtown Manhattan Beach.Other desired areas of improvement, as laid out in the BID work plan, include crosswalks, landscaping and the possibility of valet parking along with additional signs and branding of the North Manhattan Beach logo.

“Crosswalks are our No. 1 priority here, for safety,” said Enriquez Roy. She said they are currently working with the city and coming up with crosswalk design proposals. City staff informed the BID that the stamped tile crosswalks in downtown Manhattan Beach are not an option because they have turned out to be impractical and difficult to maintain.

Figuring out how to spend the money is not the hard part, the decision lies with the maintenance costs. “There are a lot of things we can do with the money we already have, but it has to work financially to maintain it. We have to be able to afford the upkeep,” said Enriquez Roy.

One of the first maintenance decisions for the BID is the approximate $8,000 annual cost for regular sidewalk power washing. The city agreed to pay for and arrange a Highland Avenue trial-run washing and the board will determine the cost benefit of such a service.Other tasks in the BID work plan include a tree replacement plan; discussion included using unified queen palm trees, like the ones recently planted in front of the new Upper Manhattan Lounge.

A valet parking service will also be explored by a BID subcommittee, along with the possibility of getting the tourist transporter, Ocean Express, to once again make a stop in North Manhattan Beach.