City’s street-sweeping service to be studied

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Sweeping city streets may help the environment,

but it is annoying some city residents who have complained about

excessive ticketing.

“I have parked on the street for 25 years without getting a ticket,”

said Jim Stringer, a resident of Wellbrook Circle. “This is the first

time I’ve ever received [tickets] for parking during street sweeping.”

The City Council decided to study the matter, voting unanimously

Monday to direct staff to prepare a report on the effectiveness of street

sweeping and its effect on residents. Councilman Tom Harman was absent.

For nearly a year, the city has conducted twice-monthly mass street

sweeping to reduce debris on the streets, thus cutting down on urban

runoff. However, cleaning the environment has come at a price for

residents who say they have received more citations.

Every month, nearly 5,000 parking citations are handed out to vehicle

owners because of street sweeping, at a cost of $32 a piece, city

officials said.

“We are not finding a balance,” Mayor Dave Garofalo said. “We have to

pick up 175 tons of debris a month, otherwise it would go into the ocean.

[But] we can’t ticket people to pay for it.”Garofalo said the study will

show the number of citations over a six-month period and the cost of

citations to residents, and will compare with other cities the number of

citations given out during Surf City’s twice-monthly sweeping.

Stringer said the city should at the least provide residents leeway by

giving warnings first.

“I don’t think [the city] is doing a good enough job to warrant

ticketing people on the street,” he said.

City Economic Development Director David Biggs, who is the acting City

Administrator while Ray Silver is on vacation, defended the program,

saying street sweeping has kept trash out of storm drains and improved

urban runoff.

“For everyone who gets a ticket, there are many people who comply. So

we realize [street sweeping] can be an inconvenience, but the greater

good is accomplished when [the city] can actually sweep the streets.”

Biggs said the council will reevaluate the street sweeping program in

January.