Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LA property owners may have to fix their own sidewalks
Listen
• 0:55
The sidewalk along Jenny Loi's Highland Park home is cracked.
(
Jenny Loi
)
A month after the city of Los Angeles agreed to spend $1.4 billion to settle an Americans with Disabilities lawsuit over the poor condition of sidewalks, a new city plan proposes making homeowners and business owners responsible for fixing hundreds of miles of tree-damaged walkways.
Part of the settlement requires the city to come up with a coherent strategy for fixing sidewalks.
The proposal, from City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, would gradually reverse a policy from 1973, when the city accepted responsibility for sidewalk repairs in exchange for a $2 million federal grant.
Since then, the backlog of repairs along Los Angeles's 11,000 miles of sidewalks has mounted - by some estimates, to more than $1.5 billion. The city doesn't know how big the problem is because officials declined to spend $10 million on an inventory project a couple of years ago.
Support for LAist comes from
Councilman Bernard Parks has long advocated putting the responsibility back onto land owners, but it's political Kryptonite for most council members.
That's how many cities handle sidewalks. A 1911 California law made sidewalk repairs the responsibility of adjacent property owners.
Gradual shift to homeowners
In his proposal, Santana said it would be unfair to suddenly put the burden of broken sidewalks onto property owners, so he recommends a gradual transfer.
In the case of tree-damaged sidewalks, the city could do something it calls "fix and release." The city would fix the sidewalks before handing 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.
Support for LAist comes from
Santana's plan would also add a coordinator to manage and prioritize the requests for sidewalk repairs and ramp installations that come from people with disabilities.
The CAO 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.
The plan does not call for citywide bonds or assessment districts. It says those would take too much time, and voters would be unlikely to support them.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the recently settled lawsuit included a provision requiring the city to draft a plan that includes sharing responsibility with the adjacent property owners. KPCC regrets the error.
20150526 CAO New Policy for Repair of Sidewalks Adjacent to Private Property
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist