LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles city officials have introduced a motion that would place the burden of repairing and maintaining 11,000 miles of city sidewalks on homeowners and business owners.
City Councilmembers Paul Krekorian, chair of the City Council's Budget and Finance Committee, and Joe Buscaino, chair of the Public Works committee,
A series of public meetings on sidewalks will be held throughout the city, so that all stakeholders can provide input into the policy proposals, according to Krekorian.
"This is a critically important issue for all Angelenos," Krekorian said in a prepared statement. "We have an opportunity and obligation to move beyond piecemeal legislation and create a complete program to fix our broken sidewalks."
The city reached a $1.4 billion agreement in an American with Disabilities lawsuit over the dilapidated condition of the city's sidewalks in April, which requires the city to come up with a comprehensive strategy for repairing the sidewalks.
City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana released a report outlining policy options for the City Council last week.
"This new report won't be the final program, but it's a good way to begin what will be a long, very public discussion," Krekorian said. "We want to hear from all residents and stakeholders so that we can come up with the best and fairest policy possible."
Santana's proposal would gradually reverse a policy established in 1973 when the city took on full responsibility for sidewalk repairs in exchange for a $2 million federal grant.
Santana's proposal does not call for citywide bonds or assessment districts.
Santana said
Over the years, the projected cost to repair the city's buckled and broken sidewalks has grown to an estimated $1.5 billion. The city doesn't know the exact cost of repairs, because city officials voted against a proposal to spend $10 million to inventory sidewalks two years ago.
If Los Angeles adopts such a policy, it will join cities like San Francisco in asking property owners to shoulder the expense.
Cities can take such action, because a 1911 California law made sidewalk repair the responsibility of adjacent property owners.
Santana's proposal would slowly shift the burden of sidewalk repair to property owners. The city would repair tree-damaged sidewalks, before handing the responsibility back to homeowners.
Santana also recommends citing property owners and giving them a deadline to fix non-tree-damaged sidewalks. If they miss it, the city would fix the walkway and bill the owners.
Commercial property owners would get about two years to fix sidewalks.
The first year is a moratorium on citations ordering fixes of broken sidewalks. After that, commercial property owners would have one year after being cited by an inspector to get their sidewalks repaired.
The plan puts the top priority for repairs on sidewalks adjacent to government offices, on transportation corridors, medical offices and workplaces.
Residential properties remain lowest on the priority list.
