Will Caltrans Bridge Project Further Dampen Local Business?

Construction will begin in the next few days at the primary entrance to the Big Bear Valley. The Project is the new Bridge over Bear Creek that will replace the nearly 100 year old bridge that sits atop the dam. The project will not be completed until 2011. Caltrans has repeatedly reassured the business community in Big Bear Lake that next to safety, keeping the road open for valley visitors is top priority, while in the same breath tells us to expect significant traffic delays. Anybody that knows construction understands what is really being said.

The only way the road will be kept open to accommodate our visitors and the survival of local merchants is if it (keeping the road open) becomes the primary priority of Caltrans and the contractor, FCI. Be assured friends, it is not. In addition to a zero tolerance for traffic delays at the construction site, Caltrans needs to acknowledge the sensitive nature of our geographic constraints including the effect of road closures on local businesses, and successfully mitigate negative impact of delays and disruptions by overcoming them with effective counter measures, with the same zeal they are mandated to deal with safety issues. I am suggesting that some of the bridge budget be spent on advertising alternate routes to our community and offsetting the reporting of road closures and delays that will be inevitably aired ( for the next 2 years) on LA TV news broadcasts.

The 2 year bridge project could be the third wave of the perfect storm for small business in the valley. The first being our having little or no place in the Southern California Marketplace other than as a recreation destination. We do no marketing to attract regional shopping/dining customers, nor do we have any plans to develop new and attractive retail space with the amenities that modern customers have come to expect in regional shopping and dining. Contrasting recent record years in ticket sales and profits for the Ski Resorts, city-wide retail sales are off nearly 25% since a high water mark in 2006. This trend has been at work for 2 years before the current economic downturn.

The second wave is the current economic downturn. This will raise the stakes even higher in the competition for regional retail spending (visitors) that all valley merchants depend on in some way, to keep the doors open. Part 2 of the second wave is just on the horizon. A 1% increase in the State sales tax. This will likely add to folks keeping the brakes on when it comes to spending on the things our Valley merchants sell to make a living.

I've asked the City Council to step up and lead our business community, and in collaboration, quickly develop a new and aggressive marketing plan. The plan would include initially spending Improvement Agency and General Funds to kick start a new branding effort and to address development needs of core retail areas. Implementation of the plan would be an effort to curtail further decline in Valley retail sales and fight, in earnest, for our share of regional retail spending. In addition, the City needs to lead in the battle to keep our roads open as if our local economy's survival is at stake. I believe it is.

If we don't act now, it will be just too late for a certain number of businesses we need in place to successfully support a meaningful and diverse offering to visitors. If we don't act at all, it won't be because we didn't see it coming or didn't know what to do. Keeping our roads open for visitors is just one thing that can and must be accomplished, but by itself, will not prevent the continued current decline of Valley retail. Valley retail merchants, restaurants and lodging must seek it's own identify and seek improvements to the marketplace and growth for the sector for a chance to succeed today and in the future.

More Affordable Housing on Pine Knot Ave.

A proposed 32 unit affordable housing complex on Pine Knot is marching forward. This development would take up prime (and very limited) land that would be better used for resort oriented development. This would make 2 affordable developments on upper Pine Knot and 1 proposed on Knickerbocker at Pennsylvania.

Upscale hotels, hi-quality restaurants and mixed use retail/office/residential development is what will allow us to compete in the regional retail marketplace for lost retail revenues and create good pay jobs for locals. This will take vision, and an updating of the development code and Village Specific Plan. Also needed is a change in policy and planning (or lack of planning) standards and an end to short sighted profiteering and the continuation of over-building our glutted residential sector. Only 30% of City Residential Dwellings are occupied full time. Nearly 80% of all DWP bills are sent out as ZERO water use. The cost of maintaining our utility infrastructure is unfairly divided among the 30% of occupied dwellings.

The City's Mayor Pro Tem, is the developer and operator of the existing affordable rental complex on Pine Knot Ave. He and his fellow council members, apparently want to concentrate the City's proposed affordable housing to constrict growth of City's Retail shopping district using our property tax dollars to subsidize the higher vacant land prices in and near the Village to create profit for low income real estate developers who don't give a hoot about our community. All in the name of meeting State mandated use of Improvement Agency funds set aside for this type of project. Only current City Council members sit on the Improvement Agency Board and alone, decide where city property tax dollars allocated to our Improvement Agency will be spent.

On March 9, 2009 the City Council voted to go forward with letters of support for the project and seek not only City Improvement Agency funds, but also other County funds for the Pacific Companies, an Out of State developer. Mayor Pro Tem Jahn may be no stranger to the Pacific Companies, as Pacific Company's home base is Idaho, with one Pacific development just down the road from Jahn's (Tetonia, Idaho) subdivision ( http://packsaddleproperties.com/). Jahn is the managing partner for packsaddle, along with Brent Tragaskis, who works for Big Bear Mountain Resorts and Big Bear Lake Planning Commissioner Craig Smith, who's wife is in charge of Big Bear Lake City Finances.

The concentration of this type of use (medium density affordable housing) will forever define and only further diminish the Village and Big Bear Lake of the ability to grow and prosper and create long term opportunity for small businesses, good pay jobs for locals and increase our standing in the regional resort field.

Big Bear Lake Improvment Agency to get Involved

At the March 9, 2009 City Council meeting, the Big Bear Lake City Council and Improvement Agency, directed staff, including Redevelopment Director for the City, Lyle Haynes, to move forward with projects to update and enhance sidewalk lighting in the Village and create lighted pedestrian paths connecting Bartlett Parking Lot to Pine Knot Ave. The Pedestrian paths will require cooperation from Village Private Property Owners to become reality.

There still is no plan to address waining demographics of Valley visitors, or for a new and different marketing strategy to curtail the 3 year decline in overall retail sales with current sales off some 40% on the year, said Charlie Brewster, President of the Village Business Association, an affiliate of the Big Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Catherine Sandstrom on the Improvement Agency Meeting:http://kbhr933.com/road-news/city-staff-village-business-association-partner-plans-revive-big-bear-lakes-village-area/