SR-9-A (37)
PO JTB HA pohce/share/staffre/plco3
CouncIl MeetIng 4/28 /98
Santa MOnica. Callforma
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STAFF REPORT
TO
Mayor and CIty Council
FROM
C rty Staff
SUBJECT
Recommendation to Approve A NeIghborhood Enhancement Pilot
Program m the Area Bounded by 14lh Street on the West, Stewart
Street on the East, Olympic Boulevard on the North and Pica Boulevard
on the South
INTRODUCTION
ThIS report requests that the City Council approve boundanes 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 mterdepartmental team including Commumty & 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 coord mated effort to enhance City
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servIces and encourage communtty Involvement [n a pilot neighborhood
In FY 1997/98, the team developed crltena to IdentIfy a pIlot area for enhanced servIces and
strategIc Improvements In part, because community development funding is ava[lable for
low Income census tracts. the downtown area, bordered by WilshIre to PICO 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 slgmficant Investment In neIghborhood Improvement
o Presence of troubled housing 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 wlthm police reporting dlstncts
o Number of calls for service
DISCUSSION
Since 1994, the downtown area has received comprehensive City resources, most notably
Special PoliCing Dlstnct (SPD) police services and the remodeling of Palisades Park These
resources brought beneficial changes
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In contrast. residents ofthe area bounded by 14'h 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 housing, for
example, the need for affordable housIng, safety and repalrfor single and multi-family umts,
housmg code vIolations and information on tenant nghts for low-Income tenants was
mentioned Other requests for Improvements Included redUCing traffic congestIon,
Improving park facIlity cleanlmess, Increasing open space, removing brush and debrrs from
empty lots and alleys, fixmg broken SIdewalks, addreSSing homeless Issues, provldmg
adequate recyclmg bms for apartment bUildings, and tnmmmg and plantIng trees SpeCIfic
locations needing street and alley lights and repair were also Identified Chromc problem
locations, such as liquor stores, drug dealing locations and frequent vandalism targets have
been cIted many times In forums such as NeIghborhood Watch meetings
Cnme In all areas of the City has decreased slgmficantly In recent years Despite the overall
decrease, Citizen-Initiated calls for servIce In the PICO Neighborhood Increased by 12 3%
when the two most recent years are compared The number of calls IS not necessanly an
Indicator of cnmmal actiVity, but a reflectIon of how commumty members view their
enVironment, mcludtng police services Residents have the expectation that the police Will
help them find effective solutIons to neIghborhood problems ThiS belief WIll provide a
strong foundation for the collaborative approach needed for thIS project
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PIlot Preqram Boundarres
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
reporting dlstrrcts and meets the cntena for Federal commumty development funds Pilot
outreach activIties may also be extended to Santa MOnica College, John Adams Middle
School and Will Rogers, Grant and Edison elementary schools to ensure that neighborhood
youth and school staff participate In the community feedback process
Nel~hborhood Survey
To obtain current feedback on neIghborhood needs, a Community Needs Assessment
Survey has been drafted and WIll be translated Into Spanish The user-friendly questionnaire
Will be completed by resIdents and merchants of the pilot neighborhood, the results
tabulated and analyzed, and a comprehensive action plan developed In partnership with the
commumty
The survey Will have a marl-back applicatIon page for those Interested In becoming
members of an adVISOry committee or In attending public meetings to be held about the
p reject
CommUnlty 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 In key
quahty of life indicators such as enhanCing the sense of safety, strengthening families and
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revItalizing the neIghborhood through pUblic Improvements and community Involvement
The committee Will begin by assIstIng rn evaluation of survey results and development of
strategies to address Identified needs
FIfteen to 20 community 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 period 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 ofthe neighborhood, Including residential and
commerCial tenants, home and apartment owners, youth, parents, singles and seniors
Organizational stakeholders from the Santa Momca-Mahbu Umfied School Dlstnct, including
adminIstratIOn. student and parent representatives, community-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 appropnate 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 period
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Inrtlatlve Trme LIne
Upon Council approval, surveys Will be sent out by May 15. 1998 PublicIty for the
Initiative's miSSion and the committee's application process Will contmue 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 prrontlzed 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 coordinated approach to addressmg 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 anllclpated that a number of funding sources Will
be applicable to the project
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City CounCil approve a NeJghborhood Enhancement Pilot
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Program. adopt the recommended pilot neighborhood and authorize 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, Commumty & Cultural Services
JulIe Rusk, Human Services Manager, CCS .
CraIg Perkins, Director, EnVironmental & Public Works Management
Suzanne Frrck, Director, Planning & 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
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