The Initiative is a citizens-based effort to stop the City Manager from raising the sales tax in the city of Artesia. Instead, the Initiative will enable the city to attract new shops, restaurants and businesses to the now-vacant former Dairy Plant on Artesia Blvd. near Pioneer Blvd.

We are opposed to a tax increase. Costs are rising and many families in Artesia are struggling to pay for basics including food, gasoline and housing. In addition, if the City Manager increases the sales tax in Artesia, shoppers will simply seek lower prices in neighboring communities like Cerritos where the sales tax will be lower.

Instead, our Initiative enables the city to increase city revenues without raising our taxes. By attracting new stores, shops and restaurants into a Shopping Center at the former Dairy Plant, we can grow the local economy, provide jobs for the residents of Artesia and increase city revenues from the sales generated on the increased volume of business in Artesia.

Last year, when the City Manager presented the city’s budget, he stated the city would be seeking an increase in sales taxes on all businesses in Artesia to meet a projected deficit. This would mean everyday items in Artesia will become even more expensive.

Subsequently, the City Manager, with the approval of the City Council, used over $100,000 dollars in public funds to hire a pollster and a public relations firm to prepare a sales tax increase for the November 2024 ballot. If the City Manager gets his way, taxes would go up for Artesia residents immediately.

We are opposed to a tax increase. Our Initiative is designed to increase city revenues without raising taxes.

The Dairy Plant closed several years ago and that property is now vacant. It is more than three acres and is perfectly located on a major thoroughfare (Artesia Blvd.) for a new shopping center.

The Initiative will enable the city to attract a new shopping center with top-of-the-line shops, restaurants and businesses. It will enable the economic base of Artesia to grow, generating jobs for the residents of Artesia and more revenue for the city.

An Initiative is the best way to guarantee the former Dairy Plant site becomes a retail or commercial development. Under California law, when voters collect signatures, place an Initiative on the ballot and approve it, it becomes law.

Housing is not a viable option for that location. The former Dairy Plant is immediately adjacent to an industrial area and across a narrow alley from a major concrete plant that runs 24 hours a day. The previous city planners and Councilmembers recognized that housing was not appropriate at that site when they adopted the Artesia Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan.

The Artesia City Council can put the Initiative before the voters in a special election later this year. If they refuse to call a special election, the Initiative will be on the ballot on November 5, 2024.

Taxpayers for a Better Artesia is a group of local business and community leaders who want to expand Artesia’s economy in order to open up opportunities for all.

Want to help grow our local economy? You can leave your info in the form above and we will have a member of our team reach out to meet you so you can sign the initiative!