Title
Gainesville Clean and Green Program (B)
The Gainesville Clean and Green Program is a comprehensive effort by City staff to focus the resources of the City, private sector, Alachua County, and the State of Florida to improve the overall appearance of the City's gateway corridors.
Explanation
The appearance of the City's gateway corridors creates a lasting impression for residents and visitors to the City. Most property owners have a great deal of pride in the maintenance of their private properties and the right-of-ways fronting gateway corridors. However, many properties reflect a level of disinterest, which can adversely impact the impression residents have of the City. Common areas within the City's gateway corridors are maintained by the City of Gainesville, Alachua County, and the Florida Department of Transportation. The State, County, and City right-of-ways are not uniformly maintained, and reflect, in some cases, overgrown grass, trash, debris, and deteriorated public infrastructure.
Private property owners and homeowners associations have installed privacy fences along the City's gateway corridors. In some cases, these privacy fences have been allowed to deteriorate and the private property adjacent to the public right-of-way has not been maintained. City staff will coordinate and encourage all of the public entities that have a role in maintaining the public property and right-of-ways to increase the aesthetic and visual appeal of the right-of-ways and public properties. Staff will also attempt to engage private property owners in a partnership to provide a greater frequency of grass cutting, and to increase fence maintenance and cleanliness along the corridors.
Major components of the Clean and Green Program will include:
* Targeted efforts by City staff to increase the effectiveness of governmental services for cleaning and maintaining public right-of-ways and properties.
* Efforts to raise the awareness of renters and property owners of the need to maintain property in front of their homes and businesses to the curb line.
* A public outreach program to celebrate actions that foster a clean and green city, and to encourage the general public to be responsible for the overall cleanliness of the City of Gainesville.
* A review of the City's ordinances to ensure that the responsibilities for maintenance of right-of-ways and property to the curb line are clear.
The Gainesville Clean and Green Program will be ongoing. Staff's goal is to engage citizens, Keep Alachua Beautiful, the City Beautification Board, the media, and other governmental entities in a comprehensive effort to improve the appearance of the City. A secondary objective of staff is to quantify on a long term basis our efforts to improve the appearance and cleanliness of the City.
Fiscal Note
Staff resources will coordinate and target an enhanced level of right-of-way and private property maintenance. Any additional expenditures will be brought forward to the City Commission as a separate City Commission item.
Recommendation
The City Commission approve staff's effort to target the cleanliness and overall appearance of the City's gateway corridors.