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Public works: crews removed 921 pounds of litter, launched community care projects and free-tree giveaway
Summary
Public works presented an annual report showing expanded litter-abatement efforts (921 pounds of trash picked up, ~200 piles of glass removed), community improvement projects with 300+ volunteers, seven new murals, and plans to amend the local waste ordinance (Chapter 17) to improve enforcement and service levels.
Public works staff reported on the department’s annual activities, highlighting litter-abatement, neighborhood-improvement and move‑out programs.
Staff said crews and a dedicated litter-removal employee collected about 921 pounds of trash over the year, removed about 200 piles of glass, and removed more than 20 pounds of flyers from poles and surfaces. A summer sweep and a post-Deltopia cleanup involved volunteers and contractors and yielded additional collections (staff reported about 792 pounds of trash collected during the post‑Deltopia volunteer cleanup). Staff hired a contractor, Haul In For You, for move‑out week and reported the contractor removed the equivalent of 442 gallon trash bags of litter and diverted usable items to the district’s gift sale.
The department described neighborhood-improvement work that included seven new murals (most painted by volunteers), a community-care project completed with Habitat for Humanity supplies and 300 volunteers, and a free tree-giveaway program launched this year with a formal application process. Staff also described a successful community yard sale with 94 resident sellers and reported the gift‑sale operation collected more than 20 tons of items for resale.
Staff said the district is engaged in a community waste meeting and is working on amendments to Chapter 17 (the Isla Vista waste ordinance) to require better service levels and make enforcement easier; staff said the ordinance changes are awaiting a county supervisory meeting because some amendments could affect property‑owner charges. Staff emphasized a continuing challenge: limited district-owned space and constrained ability to provide permanent, district-owned facilities for some programs.
Directors asked about using litter collection data to support ordinance changes and about volunteer engagement; staff said they track locations of overflowing bins and have shared data with county code enforcement and that volunteer events have been effective, particularly for larger sweeps and public‑art projects. Staff said upcoming priorities include supporting street‑sweeping efficiency tied to parking enforcement, expanding donation-collection sites for the gift sale, pursuing grants for property-owner engagement, and strengthening lighting and waste policy.
