Downtown Quality of Life Initiative
Status Report
March 16, 2023
Item (d)2.
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs
Police Department
Planning, Building and Code Enforcement
Housing Department
Presenters:
Blage Zelalich, Deputy Director, Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Captain Carlos Acosta, Police Department
Rachel Roberts, Deputy Director, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Kelly Hemphill, Division Manager, Housing Department
1. Crime Reduction
2. Blight Mitigation
3. Increased Social Service
Coordination
4. Quality of Life Metrics and
Communication
Crime Reduction Strategies
3 Downtown Foot
Patrol
Downtown
Services Unit
Community
Policing Officers
The Downtown Foot Patrol model features a three-prong approach:
(1)Personal interaction with community members and businesses in the downtown area
(2)Participation in criminal investigations leading to the arrest and citation of criminal offenders
(3)Providing a consistent and visible presence to help reduce crime.
The Downtown Services Unit is a plain clothes unit and its goal is to provide a presence in the downtown area to discourage criminal activity.
Additional duties include narcotic enforcement, handling quality of life issues, graffiti enforcement, curfew management, and traffic diversion.
Community policing activities are prioritized during any free patrol time. Additionally, one Community Policing Officer, collaterally assigned from patrol, is assigned to Central Division on day shift. This officer regularly attends community engagement events and crime prevention presentations.
Arrests Downtown
4 Blight Mitigation Strategies
5 The purpose of this program is to ensure that vacant buildings and storefronts in the Downtown are secure, not blighted and are maintained in accordance with the Municipal Code.
The Storefronts Activation Grants Program helps small, ground-floor businesses with grants to activate vacant storefronts and/or enhance their exteriors.
The PBID is a special benefit assessment district that provides enhanced maintenance, public safety, beautification and economic development programs above and beyond those provided by the City.
Storefront
Activation Grants
Neglected/Vacant
Building/Storefronts
Program
Property Based
Improvement District
(PBID)
Social Service Strategies
6 The group is focused on:
(1)Establishing a coordinated plan for downtown’s most vulnerable unhoused residents
(2)Establishing a ground floor case management storefront and (3)Vetting the feasibility of creating one phone number to call for downtown non-emergency quality of life–related incidents.
The City partners with PATH to operate the CARE program, which provides street outreach, case management, clinical services, placements in temporary and permanent housing, and basic needs to unsheltered individuals in Downtown.
Downtown Social
Service Coordination
Working Group
CARE Program
Downtown Quality of Life Metrics
Baseline Reporting Q4 2022
7 Downtown Vibrancy
• Total residents: 21,385
• Total jobs: 33,730
• Commercial vacancy rate: 20.50%
• Commercial SF:
• Entitled: 875,530
• Under construction: ~3,611,310
• Completed: 0
• Residential Units
• Entitled: 2,438
• Under construction: 558
• Completed: 135
• Business openings: 9
• Business closures: 6
• Interim parklets: 16
• Number of murals: 125
• Protected bikeways: 3.8 miles
• Bike lanes: 5 miles
• Bike boulevards: 3.9 miles
Crime Reduction *
• Total calls for service (911): 3,472
• Total violent crimes: 89
• Total property crimes: 299
• Overtime Foot Patrol hours: 1,248**
• Percentage of shifts filled: ~80%
Blight Mitigation ***
• Vacant storefronts: 64
• Neglected properties on City registry: 6
• Vacant properties on City registry: 4
• Groundwerx Statistics:
o 189,600 lbs of trash removed
o 4,316 graffiti tags removed
o 1,859 pressure washing hours
o 2,849 Safety Ambassador hours
o 1.345 directions given
Social Service Coordination
• PATH Street-based contacts (individuals served): 403
• PATH new/updated referrals to service: 100
• PATH Placements to temporary/permanent housing: 28
• County AOT**** referrals received: 11
* 0.75 mile radius from 1st and Santa Clara
• AOT Referrals to outside provider: 2
**Total hours available = ~1,560
***Vacant and Neglected property counts are for Downtown only **** Assisted Outpatient Treatment
Downtown Quality of Life Initiative
Status Report
March 16, 2023
Item (d)2.
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs
Police Department
Planning, Building and Code Enforcement
Housing Department
Presenters:
Blage Zelalich, Deputy Director, Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Captain Carlos Acosta, Police Department
Rachel Roberts, Deputy Director, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Kelly Hemphill, Division Manager, Housing Department