Oceanside neighborhood association gains prominence

By: ROB O'DELL - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 24, 2004 10:53 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- It started with a stop sign near St. Mary's Star of the Sea Preschool. It has morphed into a growing force in Oceanside city politics.

Since it was created six months ago, the Oceanside Coastal Neighborhood Association has gone from a grass-roots community group to being courted by the majority of the Oceanside City Council.

Mayor Terry Johnson stopped by an association meeting for a 90-minute chat and a question-and-answer session earlier this month. Two months ago, the developer of a large mixed-use project near Oceanside High School sought the group's blessing even as his plans were making their way through City Hall.

Council members Esther Sanchez, Rocky Chavez and Jim Wood have all taken in at least one of the group's meetings, with Sanchez and Chavez attending several.

In fact, at one meeting this year three council members showed up, forcing one to leave to avoid a violation of the state Brown Act meeting law, which prohibits a majority of elected officials from gathering at informal meetings.

The neighborhood organization serves Oceanside's coastal area between downtown and South Oceanside, an area that many say has been revitalized since the mid-1990s, when opportunists swooped in to buy up then low-priced real estate near the beach and decided to stay.

Dave Shore, an Oceanside lawyer who is supporting Chavez in his bid for mayor, said the group has become prominent in town by meeting the right people and being very organized. The association has an active nine-member board, said association President Larry Sosna, and its committees are analogous to each of the city's departments.

"They've gotten to know influential people in town and are very organized," said Shore, a former president of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. "That translates into influence. I think they have been noticed."

Sosna said he "absolutely" recognizes the group's growing clout.

"I know for a fact ... that's happening," Sosna said. "It's easier and easier for us to access council members and (city) department heads."

Stop sign start

Jill Hickerson, who lives on Nevada street, is credited with leading the movement that spawned this growing neighborhood group, according to Sosna.

Last summer, Hickerson was advocating for a stop sign near St. Mary's school at the corner of Ditmar Street and Wisconsin Avenue to slow down motorists using the street as a shortcut to Mission Avenue.

While circulating a petition to get the stop sign, Hickerson said she realized the task would have been easier if the neighborhood were organized. She also met Sosna ---- one of approximately 100 residents who signed her petition ---- and the idea of creating a neighborhood association was born.

Hickerson and Sosna were among several residents who canvassed the neighborhood, handing out 1,500 to 2,000 fliers for the group's first meeting in October. Sosna is a doctor who was a member of several neighborhood associations in Florida.

"As an individual in town, you don't really have a voice ---- you're just one," Hickerson said, adding that she views the association as social more than political.

Hickerson said that residents in the area now have a better chance to be heard, asserting that "as a group you can get something done."

About 60 residents turned out for the first meeting Oct. 8, when the group elected a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and five general board members who would serve six-month terms. The stop sign was approved by the council a few weeks after the meeting and was put up later in the year.

Shortly after that first meeting, the group ---- like the neighborhood and the city ---- suffered a tragedy. Joe Delgado, a resident in the Crown Heights section of the city, was shot to death outside his home on the 1500 block of Missouri Street on Nov. 4 after reportedly confronting a group of youths vandalizing vehicles. A neighborhood gang member has been charged with Delgado's slaying.

Sosna said that nearly 80 residents turned out for the association's November meeting to discuss the shooting in Crown Heights, a troubled, predominantly Latino neighborhood within the boundaries of the association. Located south of Oceanside High School, Crown Heights forms the northeasternmost corner of the area served by the association.

"That brought a tremendous amount of people to OCNA," Sosna said. "That put us into shock. We realized it was not far from here. People felt very vulnerable."

Sanchez also showed up for the meeting, and since then the group's meetings have been frequented by council members and neighborhood police officers.

Growing clout

Many of the fresh faces in town have quickly become acquainted with the right people, most notably the council members, Shore said.

"We've had a real good showing of support from council members," Sosna said.

Sosna said more and more developers planning large projects near the area are turning to the group for support.

"All of a sudden, people are calling us with their projects," Sosna said.

There are 7,000 to 8,000 people in the neighborhood, Sosna said, and the group hasn't ruled out expanding its borders. Sosna also said he hopes the organization can serve as a model for other neighborhood associations in the city.

Neighborhood resident Anne Fagan, who was a first-time attendee at the April 14 meeting, said she recognized that residents could have strength by banding together.

"There's power in numbers, and this is a key neighborhood in the downtown," Fagan said.

Sosna said he hoped the group could organize candidate forums for November's election and possibly co-sponsor a mayoral debate.

Councilman Jim Wood, who is mulling a run for mayor, said politics were part of the reason behind the group's sharp rise to prominence in city.

Wood said the group has garnered attention because of its large membership and because it's the "most active group around."

He said council members have given the group lavish attention because Oceanside is in a political season, with an election Nov. 2, when the mayoral post and two council seats are up for grabs.

"If they formed it in any other year, there wouldn't be as much attention," Wood said. "Let's face it: It's an election year."

Neighborhood in transition

Ten years ago, the neighborhood covered by the association was not filled with professionals looking to improve their area and make their mark on the city like today. Then it was filled with renters, old and shabby homes, and some prostitution and drug dealing, Shore said.

"The neighborhood has dramatically changed in a few years, and a new group has come up," said Shore, who used to live in the neighborhood. "You have a different dynamic there now."

Today, Shore said, most of the renters have been replaced by wealthier residents interested in protecting their investments. Between five and 10 years ago, Shore said a 1,200- or 1,300-square-foot house in the neighborhood near the beach went for around $200,000.

Now, those same houses are selling for more than $400,000, and larger homes in the area have gone for more than $600,000. In addition, Shore said many residents have done extensive remodeling of their homes.

Councilman Rocky Chavez has credited the influx of more wealthy residents and professionals to the buying opportunity the area represented over the last few years. Chavez said the low land prices were enticing for residents of Orange County and other San Diego cities who wanted to be a stroll away from the beach.

Chavez said many of the residents in the area have been here fewer than two years.

"They represent a developing element of the city that we didn't have before," Chavez said. "It's a new community."

Contact staff writer Rob O'Dell at (760) 901-4067 or rodell@nctimes.com.

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