PREPARED BY: KARINEH SAMKIAN DATE OF MEETING: 02/18/20
SUBJECT:
TITLE
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN PABLO RATIFYING THE ILLEGAL DISPOSAL SITE ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION TO CALRECYCLE FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING PREVENTION AND CLEAN-UP ACTIVITIES
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt Resolution
Body
Compliance statements
Improve Public Safety Item 505 “Keep San Pablo Clean Litter Control Initiative” is an adopted policy item contained in the FY 2019-21 Adopted City Council Priority Workplan, effective March 1, 2019.
CEQA Compliance Statement
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b)(3), ratifying the Public Works submittal of a grant application is exempt from CEQA requirements. Under Guidelines Section 15378, “project” does not include the creation of government funding mechanisms or other government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to any specific project, which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
BACKGROUND
Litter and illegal dumping have been identified as a major issue of concern for City of San Pablo (City) staff, residents and elected officials. For this reason, the City Manager developed a Litter and Illegal Dumping Task Force (Task Force) made up of Police, Community Services, and Public Works staff to study the issue and recommend a policy strategy to help alleviate littering and illegal dumping.
The City currently has several programs in place for residents to help reduce illegal dumping including: dump vouchers, dumpster days, curbside clean-ups, bulky item collection, mattress recycling and household hazardous waste drop-off. In addition to these programs, Public Works Department staff regularly pick up illegally dumped items on the streets and the creeks. Despite these programs and services, illegal dumping continues to blight the San Pablo community.
The Task Force will present their policy strategy recommendations to the City Council in order to receive Council direction on February 18, 2020. Funding will need to be identified in order to implement the Task Force recommendations, per Council guidance. CalRecycle has set aside $1,000,000 in the Illegal Disposal Site Abatement Grant Program in FY 2019/20 to clean up solid waste sites where clean-up is needed to protect public health and safety, and/or the environment. Staff reviewed the Task Force’s recommendations and aligned the grant application with those recommendations where possible.
The grant includes the following:
§ Installing fences at illegal dumping hot spot locations, as they are an effective means of preventing dumping.
§ Augmenting staff costs associated with cleaning up illegal dumping hotspots in the creeks.
§ Offering dumpsters for one-day clean-up events to multi-dwelling units which do not qualify for all the programs and/or services described above and have been identified as major contributors to illegal dumping in the City, due in part to high renter turnover. The Task Force identified education and outreach as an important component to addressing illegal dumping. Consequently, staff will leverage the clean-up days as opportunities to meet with residents and property managers of multi-dwelling units to share information about proper waste disposal procedures and free or low-cost disposal options that are available to them.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact, as this item is to ratify the grant application submitted to CalRecycle on February 13, 2020 for approximately $150,000 as part of the Illegal Disposal Site Abatement Grant Program for illegal dumping prevention and clean-up activities. Although there is no match requirement for the grant, City staff hours will be dedicated to implement the efforts proposed in the grant. If awarded the grant, City staff will return to Council to accept and appropriate the funding to the project.