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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 NITF PresentationITEM #1 TUSTIN Inter-Com a :~ ~; ,. DATE: MAY 24, 2011 ,~ TO: P NG COMMISSION BUILDING OUR FUTURE FIONORING OUR PAST FROM: AB TH A. BINSACK, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUBJECT: UORANGE COUNTY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMUNITY POLICING AWARD FOR THE NITF ALLIANCE PROJECT RECOMMENDATION: That the Planning Commission receive and file this item. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY: The Community Development Department Code Enforcement Division actively participates in the City's Neighborhood Improvement Task Force (NITF). NITF is a community governance committee, originally formed by the Tustin Police Department, wherein collaborative efforts from different City departments including the Tustin Police Department, City department staff, and other agency representatives, and community-based organizations work together to provide municipal services and address community problems. The Committee is headed by Captain Steve Lewis and co-chaired by Senior Planner Amy Thomas. Regular attendees from Community Development Department include Code Enforcement Officers Brad Steen and George Wiesinger. On May 5, 2011, the Tustin Police Department was awarded with the Orange County Human Relations Community Policing Award for the Neighborhood Improvement Task Force (NITF) Alliance Project. Orange County Human Relations works to foster mutual understanding among residents and eliminate prejudice, intolerance and discrimination in order to make Orange County a better place for all people to live, work, do business and go to school. OC Human Relations provides proactive programs throughout Orange County which reached more than 50,000 Orange County residents. This Community-Policing Awards recognize departments that have tailored .creative strategies to provide service and build positive relationships with their communities. The Tustin Police Department was recognized for the NITF Alliance Project, a successful partnership between law enforcement, city departments and community-based organizations to reduce crime and increase the livability of Tustin's Alliance Avenue neighborhood. The NITF Alliance project focused on working with the community to improve the area along Alliance Avenue. Alliance Avenue is located in Tustin's densely populated, mufti-housing area. This street, located in the southwest side of Tustin, has had a long history of higher crime rates in comparison to crime rates in the rest of Tustin. This area became the focus of the Tustin Police due to high gang activity and the deteriorating appearance of the area. While driving down Alliance, one could see abandoned couches, broken television sets, mattresses lining the streets, and clutter piled high in many front yards and balconies. At night, the street lighting was insufficient to provide adequate safety for residents to walk down the street. It even appeared the property owners had given up on their properties. Many buildings had chipped paint, PC Memo May 24, 2011 OC Human Relations Award NITF Alliance Project Page 2 cracked concrete, and overgrown vegetation which created hiding places for gang members. This created an overall rundown appearance of the neighborhood. Noting the high crime and issues in this neighborhood, the City's Neighborhood Improvement Task Force (NITF) committee initiated a community rehabilitation program to collectively address these neighborhood conditions. As part of this recent multi-phased rehabilitation program for Tustin neighborhoods, NITF members identified several needs in the Alliance Avenue neighborhood where the committee could help initiate positive change. In July 2010, members of NITF including the Tustin Police Department, Code Enforcement, Recreation, Tustin Community Redevelopment Agency, and Field Services teamed up to form a plan. This plan included efforts to liaison with the property owners and community members on Alliance Avenue to rejuvenate the area. With the intent of reducing crime and blight in the neighborhood, NITF members held an outreach to the property owners on September 26, 2010 and a "Substation-for-a- day" community event on October 22, 2010. The meeting with the property owners was held to inform property owners of the concerns plaguing Alliance Avenue and offered a solution though a partnership with the City and the property owners. Information and resources were also offered about the Residential Rehabilitation Program which provides financial incentives to property owners in designated areas of the City to stimulate beautification efforts and rehabilitation of residential properties. Shortly after the meeting, TPD and Code Enforcement met individually with property owners at their properties and conducted a walk though addressing blight issues and code violations that needed to be addressed. Crime prevention through environmental design, also known as CPTED, played a big part in the success of this community rehabilitation program. Before the NITF project, the rundown appearance of Alliance Avenue made gang members feel more comfortable to loiter about the neighborhood. Neglected and overgrown trees and shrubs previously served as excellent hiding places for the gang members and their contraband and caused additional safety hazards by blocking street lights. After NITF members worked with property owners, the unkempt shrubs were removed and replaced with decorative low growing plants thereby improving the appearance and eliminating safety concerns. Tustin's Field Services Division staff removed large trees that blocked street lights and replaced them with smaller and more manageable trees. Field Services also planted dozens of beautiful new trees to line the once barren street side creating a sense of neighborhood pride that has tied the Alliance Avenue streetscape together. TPD also reached out to the Alliance Avenue community by hosting a "Substation for a Day" on Alliance. During this event TPD and City representatives including Code Enforcement officers, Recreation staff and community Neighborhood Watch leaders provided free pizza and information and resources to the residents of this community on crime prevention and spoke about the plans for improving the area. Recreation courses at the local youth center were also offered to the residents of Alliance Avenue for reduced fees and resources for affordable housing opportunities were provided. Through the coordinated efforts of NITF working closely with the property owners and the residents on Alliance Avenue, several physical improvements were made to the neighborhood including: street tree installation, street lighting upgrades, problem tree removal, and street rehabilitation, PC Memo May 24, 2011 OC Human Relations Award NITF Alliance Project Page 3 private property landscape improvements through coordinated efforts with Code Enforcement, as well as Redevelopment and with the aid of Community Development Block Grant funding. Additionally, crime enforcement was increased along Alliance Avenue. Specialized units within the police department, including the Gang Unit, Special Investigations, and the Special Enforcement Detail, focused heavily on this area. For several weeks, the traffic division was reassigned from their traffic duties to specifically focus on crime on Alliance Avenue. TPD also conducted an "Operation Impact." Additionally, the Tustin Police Department provides an "Adopt a Complex" program where an individual patrol officer will be the main point of contact for a specific apartment complex. This program provides apartment managers and residents with a familiar point of contact to where they may express safety concerns and build a relationship with a specific officer. This program was reinvigorated and officers who may be able to provide the most efficient responses were matched with individual apartment complexes. TPD also provides an individual Community Impact Officer (CIO) to the broader north and south areas of the City. These officers do not respond to calls for service, but instead dedicate their time and efforts to coordinating and responding to their community. Two civilian Police Safety Officers (PSO) are- also assigned to the north and south areas where they regularly hold Neighborhood watch meetings and continually form new Neighborhood watch groups. Code Enforcement Officers are also assigned by the same areas creating a cooperative team who can approach neighborhood issues consistently and cooperatively with property owners, property managers and residents. This team of City representatives also helps in creating a sense of approachability so that residents can take a sense of ownership for their neighborhoods and ultimately benefit the community. As a result of the collaborative efforts of the Tustin Police Department through the Neighborhood Improvement Task Force and the community rehabilitation program for Alliance Avenue, the community has enjoyed a huge success with the transformation in this neighborhood. Property owners promptly fixed up rundown buildings by painting buildings, replacing dilapidated garage doors, filling in neglected planting areas with decorative the and evicting problem gang members. Buildings were painted, unsightly tarps were taken down, front yards and alleys were cleaned up, and graffiti was removed. It was clear the property owners were also interested in upgrading Alliance Avenue with the reward of increased property values. The community outreach efforts by TPD through NITF to the residents of the Alliance Avenue have resulted in a greater sense of community pride in the neighborhood and ultimately a new relationship was built between the Tustin Police and the community. Community members are now speaking more freely to the police and four new neighborhood watches were started and overall crime statistics were dramatically reduced. The residents, including the elderly and small children, who live on Alliance Avenue can now comfortably walk down the street in their community as they enjoy a safer and more aesthetically pleasant environment. S:1Cdd\PCREPORT\2011\Memo NITF award 052411.doc