TITLE
Recommendation to request City Council to receive and file this memorandum, and request City Manager to engage with our utility partners to develop a streamlined process of removing hanging shoes from utility lines within 72 hours, and report back to City Council in 90 days.
DISCUSSION
All across the United States one can find discarded shoes hanging from wires, poles, and trees. These shoes are blight on the community. Hanging shoes are visual eyesores that negatively impact the quality of life for our residents and business community.
Currently there is no easy way to remove this blight. The Utility companies are responsible for the operation and maintenance of their lines within the City of Long Beach jurisdiction.
The City of Long Beach, at great expense removes graffiti upon being notified within 48 to 72 hours. We remove graffiti because we embrace the "broken window" theory.
This theory claims that aggressive attention to petty crimes, such as breaking windows and vandalism, should be quickly resolved in order to prevent an environment that invites more crime to occur. By fixing problems such as vandalism and graffiti in a day or two, problems do not escalate and thus residents can maintain their neighborhoods and quality of life.
It is generally understood that utility companies cannot remove shoes from lines owned and operated by other utility companies. This adds to the extreme difficulty in eliminating this blight.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
DEE ANDREWS, COUNCILMEMBER, 6TH DISTRICT