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SR-9A (6) PD JTB HA pollce/share/staffre/plc03 Council Meeting 4/28 198 Santa Monica, California q-A MAY 12- STAFF REPORT TO Mayor and City Council FROM City Staff SUBJECT Recommendation to Approve A Neighborhood Enhancement Pilot Program In the Area Bounded by 14th Street on the West, Stewart Street on the East, OlympiC Boulevard on the North and PICO Boulevard on the South INTRODUCTION ThiS report requests that the City Council approve boundaries for the first phase of a neighborhood enhancement pilot program deSigned to Improve community quality of life AddItionally, It transmits the recommended scope, goals and membership for an adVISOry committee which Will be created to provide meaningful public Input on the Initiative's strategies and programs The process by which the program Will be Implemented IS also briefly deSCribed BACKGROUND In FY 1996/97, a publiC safety collaborative objective was developed to respond to community safety Issues An Interdepartmental team including Community & Cultural Services, EnVironmental & Public Works Management, Planning & Community Development, Police Department, Resource Management and the City Manager's Office, met throughout the year The team recommended a coordinated effort to enhance City 1 q-A MAY f 2 198 services and encourage commumty Involvement In a pilot neighborhood In FY 1997/98, the team developed criteria to Identify a pilot area for enhanced services and strategIc Improvements In part, because community development fundIng IS available for low Income census tracts, the downtown area, bordered by WJlshlre to PIca Boulevards and Ocean Avenue to Lincoln Boulevard, and the area bounded by 14th Street on the west, Stewart Street on the east, Olympic Boulevard on the north and Pica Boulevard on the south were pnme candidates for the pilot Other factors considered In the Identification of the pilot neighborhood were o A strong sense of neighborhood to bUild on o Recency of slgmflcant Investment In neighborhood Improvement o Presence of troubled housmg properties o HOUSing denSity o Need for streeUsldewalklalley Improvements o Street lighting needs o Safety related damage to Infrastructure o Homogeneity of safety related Issues WithIn police reporting districts o Number of calls for service DISCUSSION Since 1994, the downtown area has received comprehensive City resources, most notably Special PoliCing District (SPD) police services and the remodelmg of Palisades Park These resources brought benefiCial changes 2 In contrast, residents of the area bounded by 14th Street on the west, Stewart Street on the east. Olympic Boulevard on the north and PICO Boulevard on the south have been requestmg an enhanced level of service for some time In the Neighborhood Support Center's 1996 broad survey, cItizens IdentifIed a range of issues that could be addressed In a comprehensive, neighborhood development program In regard to housmg, for example, the need foraftordable housing, safety and repalrforslngle and multi-family units, housmg code violations and Information on tenant rights for lOW-Income tenants was mentioned Other requests for Improvements Included redUCing traffic congestIon, Improving park facIlity cleanliness, Increasmg open space, removing brush and debriS from empty lots and alleys, fixmg broken Sidewalks, addreSSing homeless Issues, provldmg adequate recycling bins for apartment bUlldmgs, and trlmmmg and planting trees Specific locations needmg street and alley lights and repair were also Identified ChroniC problem locations, such as liquor stores, drug dealmg locations and frequent vandalism targets have been Cited many times In forums such as Neighborhood Watch meetmgs Crime m all areas of the City has decreased slg nlflcantly In recent years Despite the overall decrease, Citizen-Initiated calls for servIce In the PIca Neighborhood Increased by 12 3% when the two most recent years are compared The number of calls ]s not necessarrly an Indicator of crrmmal activIty, but a reflection of how commumty members view their enVironment, IncludIng pollee servIces ReSidents have the expectation that the pol]ce Will help them find effective solutions to neighborhood problems ThiS belief Will proVide a strong foundation for the collaborative approach needed for thiS project 3 Pilot Program Boundaries It IS recommended that boundanes of the project area be 14th Street to Stewart Avenue and Olympic to PIca Boulevards The area Within these borders follows natural police reportmg dlstncts and meets the cntena for Federal community development funds Pilot outreach actIVIties may also be extended to Santa MOnica College, John Adams Middle School and Will Rogers I Grant and Edison elementary schools to ensure that neighborhood youth and school staff participate In the community feedback process. Neighborhood Survey To obtam current feedback on neighborhood needs, a Community Needs Assessment Survey has been drafted and Will be translated Into Spanish The user-fnendly questionnaire Will be completed by residents and merchants of the pilot neighborhood, the results tabulated and analyzed, and a comprehenSive actIon plan developed m partnership With the community The survey Will have a mall-back application page for those Interested In becoming members of an adVISOry committee or In attending public meetings to be held about the project Community AdVISOry Committee The miSSion of the committee Will be to work In partnership With CIty departments, schools and non-profits which serve the area to Identify and advocate for Improvements m key quality of life mdlcators such as enhancmg the sense of safety, strengthenmg families and 4 revItalizing the neighborhood through public Improvements and community Involvement The committee Will begin by assisting In evaluation of survey results and development of strategies to address Identified needs Fifteen to 20 commumty members Will be InVited to serve on the committee In order to reach the broadest audIence pOSSible. the committee, Its miSSion and the application process Will be well publiCized over a two month perrod Interested persons Will complete an application and submit It to the City Clerk's Office The Interdepartmental team Will recommend committee members to the City CounCil, which Will also be asked to fill a number of pOSitions directly PartiCipants WIll represent the full spectrum of the neighborhood, mcludlng residentIal and commerCial tenants, home and apartment owners, youth, parents, Singles and seniors Orgamzatlonal stakeholders from the Santa Momca-Mallbu U mfied School DiStrict, including administration, student and parent representatives, commumty-based non-profIt and adVISOry board members, and religiOUS congregation members, Will be encouraged to apply for committee membership In essence, the committee Will reflect the full diverSity of the population In the neighborhood Once representatives are selected, a schedule of meetings Will be set up, each With a speCific agenda that will Involve approprrate City staff In attendance Depending on the compleXity of the Issues and the Interest of committee members. It IS estImated that there Will be four to SIX two-hour meetings over a six-month perrod 5 Initiative Time Line Upon Council approval, surveys will be sent out by May 15. 1998 Publicity for the Imtlatlve's miSSion and the committee's application process will continue through May and June Applications will be received by early July, and City staff will seek CounCil confirmation of committee representatives In July The committee will convene In September and meet for the next SIX months It IS anticipated that by January 1999, the committee Will report ItS pnorltlzed recommendations on neighborhood livability Issues to CounCil and the community for Immediate action and. as necessary, incorporation In the FY 1999-2000 budget An Integrated Approach A coordmated approach to addreSSIng Issues raised by the community Will constitute the fIrst phase of the Initiative Once the pilot program IS successfully Implemented and evaluated, similar programs may be considered for other areas of the City BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT No budget Impact IS associated WIth this staff report Once the community advIsory committee and City staff have finalized their recommendations, staff Will return to CounCil With a project time line and budget It IS anticipated that a number of funding sources Will be applicable to the project RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City CounCil approve a Neighborhood Enhancement Pilot 6 Program, adopt the recommended pilot neighborhood and authonze staff to move forward with the approach and actions set forth In this report Prepared by James T Butts, Jr , Chief of Police Barbara Stinchfield, DIrector, Communrty & Cultural Services Julie Rusk, Human Services Manager, CCS Craig Perkms, Director. Environmental & Public Works Management Suzanne Fnck, Director, Plannmg & Community Development Jeff Mathieu, Director, Resource Management Bob Moncnef, Housmg Manager, Resource Management Katie Llchtlg, CIty Manager's Office Kate Vernez, City Manager's Office 7