SF Mission Possible: Commercial Corridor Blog

Don't Mess with the Mission:
Where we track efforts, to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors on the SF Mission District from the perspective of a long-time, somewhat jaded, yet still involved, local business person.
Below find, the likely last two anti-litter initiatives of the Willie Brown administration announced in the last half of his final eighth year. The first is the public education campaign which replaces STOMP out Litter . The last typifies the worst of DPW leadership where a failed DPW anti-litter program becomes the most publicized effort of the department head struggling with budget cuts, who defends it by saying they will focus more on fines without warnings.
Fines without warnings for sidewalks which cannot stay clean longer than 7 days or your name on a piece of litter near a garbage can was why the 16 enforcement officers were initially targeted for the token DPW budget cutback by the Board of Supervisors. The unfortunate but successful response from Department head Ed Lee was not reformulation but rather greater effort on collection and scapegoating. More here

July 29, 2003

- The San Francisco Clean City Coalition (Clean City), San Francisco Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) and the Department of Public Works (DPW).. www.sfcleancity.com , collects complaints about litter, graffiti and can be reached at 415- 28-CLEAN.

Clean City's Gia Grant chairs Mission Possible meetings for the Inner Mission which you are welcome to attend more

SFgate.com reports Clean City Advertising will emphasize pride in living in San Francisco
Supervisors Bevan Dufty & Fiona Ma introduced a resolution supporting the initiative. SF Chronicle reporter Patrick Hoge found the images selected (snow & smog) mystifying for an anti-litter campaign. Still in the history of pro-bono SF anti-litter advertising campaigns few can top the 1996 campaign featuring top models like Naomi Campbell covering themselves with garbage while wearing very little.
These campaigns pay their token respects to the truth that public education campaigns have been the key to all successful anti litter efforts.

"Nobody says when they get outside the Bay Area I'm from Daly City, or I'm from Oakland, or I'm from Marin," Blitch said. "They always say I'm from San Francisco. People are proud of that. We basically look down our noses at people who can't live here."
said SF chamber President Lee Blitch.

"In order to improve San Francisco's neighborhoods and streets, it is clear that we will need to involve residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations and many others," said Gia Grant, the Clean City Coalition's executive director.

Grant says organizers are looking for a computer wholesaler or retailer to donate 20 handheld computers to get the program started. The Chamber is planning to seek grants to pay for the program, which officials estimate will cost less than $500,000 for a year.

"We're hoping to roll it out into major corridors in every supervisorial district within a year and a half," Gia Grant said.
Gee a grant is always nice but perhaps not the best way to involve others. Besides the schools, who could be more important constituency than local small business, but the other hand of DPW has been aggressively alienating them with a nasty photo and fine campaign whose troops say they take orders directly from the top of SFDPW. more by sfgate

San Francisco Department of Public Works

May 2003 Prior failed DPW anti-litter program which cited first and asked questions later revived from budget axe despite business complaints. DPW promises to fine 50% more to better fund positions.
S.F. court to talk trash Enforcement program readied to make sure litterbugs pay fines Ilene Lelchuk, Chronicle Staff Writer		Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Robert Arevalo of the S.F. Public Works Department inspects garbage for clues to who dumped it
Alvaro Rocha (left), manager of the Tire Sales Co. in San Francisco, receives two litter citations totaling $638 from Arevalo. This fine, which if similar to the one this author received, came without a warning for a longstanding problem peripherally related to the business. Note DPW's new emphasis on repeat offenders, who are hit by the laws escalating fines for 2nd offences. Many businesspeople believe the only hope is a reform minded mayor and a more informed electorate. This pattern, while particularly egregious, is all too well known to those with regular City business. However it was not since the last days of City Attorney Louise Renne that such a serious breach of fairness and minimum acceptable performance was breached. more on Renne Lowering the Bar: Mayoral candidate and City Treasurer Susan Leal is mentioned in this SFgate.com article as the solution to the minimal success at collections for this program. However, her campaign has made a point that too much of City government is concerned more with "Lowering the Bar" or pursuing non accountability for their efforts.

"The Board of Supervisors has given DPW chief Ed Lee initial approval to create a new litter court based at City Hall with a neutral hearing officer devoted to tracking tickets and putting the city treasurer in charge of collecting fines.

"There is a little more to the job than being nasty," Bateman said. "These are businesspeople."

Hearing officer Thom Bateman, president of the California Community Dispute Services, defended his work as the appeals officer for the many business and citizens who received fines from inspectors who were instructed to not give warnings but rather photograph and fine. Requests by this reporter to speak with supervisor were met with the response that the instructions come direct from Ed Lee.

Although this year's budget cuts threatened all of Lee's 16 environmental control officer positions and two supervisors, Lee hopes this new litter court will bring in enough revenue to keep at least eight officers and their supervisors and increase revenue by 50%.

Public Works Deputy Director Mohammed Nuru said the officers, who realize that most violators are repeat offenders, will start handing out more tickets than warnings this summer.

"We are really trying to send the message out that we won't tolerate the behavior anymore," Nuru said full story at sfgate

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