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Council to address graffiti, illegal dumping and street-vendor rules after town-hall feedback
Summary
Residents and councilmembers on Feb. 4 pressed the city to step up graffiti removal, halt illegal dumping of furniture and mattresses, and finalize rules for street vendors ahead of upcoming events.
Residents and councilmembers used the Feb. 4 meeting to press several code-enforcement issues that have arisen in recent town-hall meetings: graffiti, illegal dumping (couches and mattresses), potholes, truck idling near Central Avenue and unregulated street vendors.
Multiple council members said the problems have increased and asked staff to bring specific proposals back to the council. Councilmember Arlene Rojas and others said graffiti and dumping were recurring topics at their town-hall meetings and urged faster removal and stronger deterrents. "We need to be able to get back to that 24-hour removal," Rojas said, referencing prior practices.
City Manager and Director of Public Works briefed the council that staff are assessing resources: the city has begun hiring additional graffiti-removal personnel and will request equipment funding in the next budget. Director of Public Works also said staff are finalizing an updated maintenance agreement with Caltrans to permit the city to remove graffiti on Caltrans property more quickly.
Councilmembers asked staff to review the current WRI (waste-recycling) contract and verify that the contractor is meeting obligations for bulky-item removal; staff said an internal review and potential voluntary fee audit with the contractor is underway. The city manager said legal staff (Ben Jones, in Alshire & Winder) are drafting ordinance language for street vendors and for prohibiting street takeovers; councilmembers asked for those drafts to return to council for review prior to the upcoming sports and event seasons.
Other requests from the dais included targeted enforcement of truck idling and additional pavement repairs on Avalon and Sepulveda/Avalon intersections. Mayor Pro Tem Juwan Hilton and others asked staff to coordinate increased weekend or targeted patrols to remove dumped items more promptly and to consider raising fines or other deterrents.
Council directed staff to return with ordinance language, contract-review findings and a staffing/funding plan for faster graffiti and bulky-item removal.
