Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: MAY 7, 2024
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: STEPHEN BISE, P.E. PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
PREPARED BY: JEROME JOAQUIN, ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER
SUBJECT: STREET SWEEPING OPERATION AND ENFORCEMENT
ALTERNATIVES
SUMMARY
Update on street sweeping enforcement and street sweeping operation alternatives.
PROPOSED MOTION
Maintain current street sweeping operations with enforcement.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Maintain current street sweeping operation level without street sweeping parking enforcement
Implement biweekly street sweeping operation, with or w ithout street sweeping parking enforcement
Implement alternating street sweeping operation, with o r without str eet sweeping parking enforcement
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
The City Manager is seeking direction from the City Council. Each of the options (with the exception of non -enforcement) would mee t the Clean Water Act requirements for the City. However, each option also has impacts on res idents who do not have
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May 7, 2024 - Page 2
alternative parking optio ns. Some of the options do pro vide some mitigation of thos e impacts while maintaining permit requirements.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organization Stability
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
The average monthly net revenue came to approximately $33,000 prior to citywide street sweeping parking enforcement. The City anticipated an increase in citations after completing the street sweeping parking signage project and implementing citywide enforcement. This surge peaked in September 2023 with net reven ue f rom street sweeping parking cita tions total ing $128,500. Monthly net revenue has steadily declined since that time , with $101,500 average monthly net revenue from November 2023 to March 2024.
This report di scusses the fiscal impact of e ach street swee ping and enforcement alternative. Staff notes many variables could influence the cost implications from street sweeping citations, the operational costs associated wit h street sweepi ng and compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit regulations.
If City Council proceeds with one of the proposed alternatives, any additional costs could impact the General Fund (Fund 10).
The program aims to meet City storm water management program requirements while attempting to limit impacts on residents and businesses.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City street sweeping contractor, Sweeping Corp orations of America (SCA), provides citywide weekly street sweeping services. The Ci ty is in the sixth year of its seven year contract with SCA. The City Storm Water Management Program (SWMP) requires regular street sweeping as an effective an d best management practic e for stormwater compliance. The C ity r elies heavily on street swe eping to remove trash, plant material, sediment and other unsightly debris that can clog storm drain systems and prevent pollutants and contaminants from entering the stormwater system.
Vehicles parked in the street sweeper path make cleaning less effective and can result in NPDES Municipal Separate Storm S ewer System (MS4) permit noncompliance. The City adopted street sweeping ordinances but had limited enforcement over the past several years due to reduced staffing levels and inadequate street-sweeping signage.
The City contracted with SP+ to address thi s iss ue and provide increased citation services. The City is in the last term year of the SP+ contract. The City installed “No Parking - Street Swe eping” signage in 2023 to aid enforcement. The City provided ample warning to residents and resumed enforcement in September 2023.
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Street Sweeping Enforcement Update
Staff collected and analyzed data from the street sweeping parking citation s and observed a notable increase in c itation issuance since the installation of citywide street sweeping parking signage in August 2023 as shown on the following diagram. City anticipated this increase due to expanded enforcement areas and efforts to improve the street swee ping operation. However, citation frequencies have steadily decline d and this downward trajectory indicates progressive compliance with street sweeping parking regulations, as evidenced by decreased calls pertaining to street sweeping enforcement received by staff.
The following heat map indicates a concentration of street sweeping parking citations in the south side of the City, particularly in high-density residential areas. This suggests a higher frequency of violations in these regions. This could be attributed to the volume of vehicles competing for limited parking spaces in these neighborhoods.
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Additionally, resid ents in mu ltifamily housing might be le ss likely to have ample designated parking spots, leading to increased instances of illegal parking during street sweeping hours.
Street Sweeping Alternatives
Staff believes the City has the most effective street sweeping operation in place. Staff has explored various alternatives to current operations and notes the following alternatives have various cost implications and operational effectiveness impacts:
Alternative No. 1: Maintain current street sweeping operation level without enforcement.
This alternative would not ticket vehicles to parked on streets during street sweep ing operations, resulting in incomplete street cleaning which could lead to debris, litter and pollutant accumulation, detracting from cleanliness and visual app eal of the streets and surrounding areas. The buildup of deb ris and pollutants poses a thr eat to water runoff quality potentially contaminating nearby water bodies, harming local ecosy stems and increasing the flood risk during heavy rainf all events. If residents voluntarily complied this option would comply. H owever if residents did not voluntarily comply , this noncompliance could jeopardize City adherence to MS4 permit regulations.
Eliminating street sweeping parking citations could prevent complete street sweeping operations due to parked vehicles obstructing th e sweeping process and warrant manual cle aning of ca tch basins and curbs a nd gutters, n ecessitating a full-time and ongoing maintenance program to manually clean curbs and gutters, catch basins and inlet baskets. The City would likely need to hire an additional field crew and procure vehicles to perform this citywide operation, incurring costs that run counterproductive to the efficiency achieved through contracting a street sweeping service provider.
Alternative No. 2: Biweekly street sweeping operation.
Biweekly s treet sweeping would clean streets every other week . Transitioning to biweekly street sweeping provides benefits in c ost reduction and easing the burden on residents and businesses without alternative parking. The city c ould save operational expenses associat ed with street sweeping by halving the frequency of swe eping, reducing the estimated annual sweeping contract cost by approximately 32%, or from $800,000 to $545,000. Implementing bi-weekly street swe eping operations requires replacing sign age to in form residents and visitors of the schedule. Staff estimates replacing signage would cost $350,000 and take approximately 11 months to complete.
Reducing the frequency of street sweeping can have negative implications. Less frequent sweeping may lead t o slightly more debris accumulation between sweepings which could lead to a n unsightly appearance of the City , espec ially in areas that experience higher levels o f foot or ve hicle traffic. T hese areas may require more frequent attention from st reet sweeping to maintain cleanliness. While this option may result in slightly less frequent sweeping, it can still effectivel y manage debris and maintain cleanliness, espec ially if res idents do not litter excessively. The City would comply with its MS4 permit regulations when implementing a biweekly stre et sweeping schedule.
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Alternative No. 3: Alternating sides of the street sweeping operation, with or without street sweeping parking enforcement.
This alte rnative would require rev ising the street swee ping contract to reflect the expanded scope of wo rk and associated e xpenses such as incr eased drive time and fuel usage . SCA indicated t his al ternative would necessitate an extra sweeper to maintain the current level of sweeping s ervice. Staff projects this adj ustment c ould increase the contract cost by approximately 15%, raising the current $800,000 annual street sweeping contract with SCA to an estimated $938,000. Any changes to the street sweeping schedule would require signage replacement at approximately $350,000.
The City would also need to coordinate street sweeping with solid waste hauler routes, with costs for route changes and cost implications of this coordination unknown at th is time.
Conclusion:
The street sweeping program has operated since 1980, providing an effective method for complying with stormwater regul ations, a practice widely adopted by many cities in California. Staff recommends maintaining current parking enfor cement measure s to ensure program effectiveness. Sanitation Fun ds (Fund 23) support street sweeping expenses. Sanitation Fund allocation is limited to existing str eet and land scape maintenance needs.
If City Council proceeds with o ne of the proposed altern atives, staff recommend s funding any additional costs through the General Fund (Fund 10). This approach would ensure continued effectiven ess of the street-sweeping program whil e al lowing the necessary financial support to implement alternative operations.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – PowerPoint Presentation
cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt