BeautifySJ Neighborhood
Blight Reduction Annual Report
October 12, 2023
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
PRESENTERS
Andrea Flores Shelton, Deputy Director
Olympia Williams, BeautifySJ Division Manager
Ed Ramirez, Supervising Environmental Services Specialist Community Services Division
Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services AGENDA
• Three E's Approach to Blight
• #BSJProud Behavior Change
Campaign
• Key Partnerships
• Looking Forward 2023-2024
THREE E’S APPROACH TO BLIGHT
Cities and Counties that use this approach:
Alameda County
Contra Costa County
San Mateo County
City of Los Angeles
Eradication
Upstream Downstream
#BSJProud
Behavior change campaign • strengthen community sense of pride • stop illegal dumping Reached nearly 1 Million impressions
$200,000 in one time funding
for multilingual education
and outreach plan.
ERADICATION EFFORTS
• 2,907,445 square feet of graffiti abated
⚬ 14% increase from FY21-22
• 12,846 volunteers donated 22,081 hours of service
⚬ 300% increase from FY21-22
ERADICATION EFFORTS
9.4 million pounds of trash collected in 22-23
⚬ 70% increase
Collected 7,050,000 pounds of trash and debris
by RAPID team
• 45% of all illegal dumping pickups done
proactively/not reported thru 311
Hosted 96 events collecting 2,102,780 pounds
of unwanted items through Dumpster Days
KEY PARTNERSHIPS
• Caltrans
• Union Pacific Railroad
• County of Santa Clara
• Valley Water District
• Creek Partners
⚬ Southbay Clean Creeks Program
⚬ Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful
⚬ Trash Punx
EDUCATION STRATEGY
28% increase in volunteer participation
Engagement with 44 schools
87 presentations at neighborhood
association meetings
Attendance at 38 resource fairs
Over 6,000 students engaged via BSJ
education
ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Code Enforcement – Illegal Dumping in FY 22-23 • 41 citations have been issued • 64% of citations have received partial/full payment Deterrents: • No Illegal Dumping signage • 8 cameras rotated through illegal dumping hotspots • Bollards, boulders, and motion sensor lighting Next steps: • Beautification and landscaping methods as deterrents LOOKING FORWARD FY23-24
• Beautify Your Block
• Clean Gateways Program
• Clean California Maintenance Agreement
BEAUTIFY
YOUR BLOCK
A pilot focused on inspiring residents to
become part of the solution to address
blight in their neighborhoods
Bridge the gaps between
neighborhoods and city services
Trained and knowledgeable
neighborhood leaders
Enhance beautification efforts
CLEAN GATEWAYS PILOT
• Proactive strategy to clean and maintain heavily
trafficked intersections and corridors that serve as
gateways to the city
• Explore strategies to use landscaping and
beautification methods as deterrents
• Year 1 of the program will focus efforts across
eleven (11) gateway/corridor locations
THANK YOU!
CITY COUNCIL & MAYOR MATT MAHAN
CMO – BUDGET OFFICE
PRNS - PARKS DIVISION
DOT – HEAVY EQUIPMENT TEAM
DOT - VEHICLE ABATEMENT PROGRAM
ESD - WATERSHED PROTECTION TEAM
PBCE – CODE ENFORCEMENT
PW – FLEET TEAM
SAN JOSE POLICE DEPARTMENT
NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS
CALTRANS
COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
VALLEY TRANSIT AUTHORITY
GUADALUPE RIVER PARK
CONSERVANCY-SAN JOSE WALLS
KEEP COYOTE CREEK BEAUTIFUL
SJ CONSERVATION CORPS
DOWNTOWN STREETS TEAM
SOUTHBAY CLEAN CREEKS COALITION
THE TRASH PUNX
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
VALLEY WATER DISTRICT
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE BSJ TEAM!
BeautifySJ Neighborhood
Blight Reduction Annual Report
October 12, 2023
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
PRESENTERS
Andrea Flores Shelton, Deputy Director
Olympia Williams, BeautifySJ Division Manager
Ed Ramirez, Supervising Environmental Services Specialist Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services