Item B: Neighborhood Livability Working Group Report

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Neighborhood Livability Working Group Graffiti, Garbage and Litter Abatement Problem Description The condition of a neighborhood and its surrounding streets, parks, etc. shows residents the level of care and monitoring that goes on. Disrespectful and/or criminal behavior is more likely to occur in a neighborhood where garbage and broken bottles are neglected, over-flowing dumpsters are ubiquitous, vandalism is unrepaired, and graffiti is common. Strategy Description Organize volunteer Litter/Graffiti Patrols through school, civic, religious, or neighborhood groups. Groups pick up stray litter, provide door knocker information to problematic houses, and contact the property owner or email the city for enforcement of graffiti and land use nuisances. While graffiti abatement is currently the responsibility of the property owner (this includes individuals, city, and utilities) consideration should be given to the City contracting to have graffiti removed in a timely and consistent manner on both private and public land. Related Goals/Policies i documentation and removal efforts. It is also consistent with code provisions related to zoning and nuisance violations. Costs and Potential Resources Costs for implementing this strategy are low as they rely primarily on volunteers to do the work. However, funding to support a private contractor for graffiti removal would add additional costs to the strategy. Garbage haulers may provide discounted rates for dumpsters and hauling fees for neighborhood cleanups. Amazon Neighbors Graffiti/Litter Patrol could serve as a model to other neighborhoods or groups interested in this approach. The work of this group was shown to be effective with only a few people regularly involved over the span of a year. The level of garbage decreased in general as the culture changed, and the prompt and thorough removal of graffiti curbed additional tagging. The University of Oregon, public schools, neighborhoods and other service groups are potential sources of volunteers. Neighborhood Matching Grant program could provide seed money to support a local volunteer effort. -out Recycling Event. Use existing events, such as the Po education and graffiti reporting resources. Issues to Consider A significant barrier is the common perspective that litter and garbage are someone else's responsibility (i.e. the garbage company, the property manager, the criminal doing community service). Neighborhood garbage/litter removal efforts can be overwhelmed by the large amounts of garbage generated by students moving out at the end of the semester. There simply is not enough dumpster capacity to handle the load. Measuring Effectiveness The number of graffiti and zoning and nuisance violations reported over time in those neighborhoods with active Litter/Graffiti Patrols. 36 Page