JosephA Raso
CHULA VISTA, CA 91910
Telephone
Honorable Mayor & City Council, April 15, 2025
Good Evening. I come before you tonight with message of immediate and critical urgency. The actions of this City Council have placed the merchants of Downtown Chula Vista - not in a precarious position - but in a crisis. The forced removal of sidewalk dining has delivered a devastating blow to our downtown’ s economic vitality. If corrective action is not taken swiftly, we risk the total unraveling of a district we have spent years building.
My family has operated La Bella Pizza Garden in Downtown Chula Vista since 1955. For 70 years, we’ ve employed thousands, served millions, and worked tirelessly to transform Downtown into a cultural and commercial centerpiece of Chula Vista. At present La Bella supports 90 employees and brings nearly one million visitors downtown annually.
As a board member of the former ‘ Third Avenue Village
Association,” I advocated for the hiring of New City America - professionals with a proven track record, including the continued revitalization of San Diego’ s Gaslamp quarter. We believed our time had nal come. With the near completion of the Gaylord Project the path to a vibrant downtown seemed clear. But that vision has been derailed by your continued resistance to a proven, popular, and economically vital element: outdoor dining.
Chula Vista enjoys one of the best climates in America. Outdoor dining was not just a trend - it was the catalyst that made our downtown experience vibrant and inviting. In fact, Gaylord itself recently reached out requesting promotional material to high light our downtown - yet we Page of1 2
WrittenCommunications - Item5.6
Raso - Received4/14/2025
have very little left to promote. The abrupt removal of sidewalk dining has stripped Downtown of its charm and energy. Your inaction is costing us dearly.
We demand that this Council immediately extract item six from page two of the Staff Report and take separate, expedited action to restore outdoor dining. We further call on the council to adopt Mayor John McCann’ s proposed outdoor dining policy, modeled after San Diego’ s highly successful outdoor dining ordinance. Time is of the essence - summer is fast approaching, and everyday of delay pushes more merchants towards insolvency.
To offset lost revenue from parking, downtown businesses have already agreed to an increase in parking rates. We have shown good faith. What we have received is poor judgement - rst forcing us to dismantle outdoor setups in August 2024, while dangling the promise of November ordinance that never materialized. Those actions were not only shortsighted - they were damaging and disingenuous. Many believe that the ordinance was never intended to materialize.
This is not a single misstep - it is a culmination of years of obstruction. We have lost too many valued merchants already. Without your cooperation, the “ Downtown Chula Vista Association” cannot fulll it’s mission. Your resistance has rendered progress impossible.
I say this with great reluctance. If this Council continues to block meaningful revitalization efforts, I will recommend the “ Downtown Chula Vista Association” be dissolved during the negotiation of our City Wide Enabling Ordinance”.
Our Merchants cannot continue to invest their hard earned prots in a vision unsupported by City leadership. Without urgent afrmative action, Downtown Chula Vista will slide into irreparable decline - and it will be this council’ s legacy. Thank you,
Joseph A. Raso
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Written Communications - Item 5.6
Raso - Received 4/14/2025