The Last Hurrah for "Mr. Florence-Firestone"

Nearly four years ago I was hired by the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning. Having graduated from USC with a B.S. in Planning and Development only months earlier, I was anxious to begin my career as a professional planner. I had been passionate about cities and planning my entire life, so I saw my new job as an opportunity to gain "real world" experience and have a direct hand in making Los Angeles County a better place to live.

I was assigned to the Zoning Enforcement Section. The topic of code enforcement was never discussed in my Planning and Development classes, so I really didn't know what the job would entail. Indeed, many large jurisdictions (including the City of L.A.) don't have professional planners doing code enforcement, and many in the Department feel that Zoning Enforcement isn't "real" planning work. Of course, a person can make any job into what he or she wants it to be; I refused to believe code enforcement was "beneath me" and chose to view what I was doing through the lense of urban revitalization, a primary goal of professional planners.

When I began my job, my primary "field area," the terriority within which I was responsible for enforcing the Zoning Code, was Florence-Firestone. Florence-Firestone is an unincorporated "island" in the southeast portion of the County, adjacent to Watts and South Los Angeles. As you might expect, no one in the Department considered this a "plum assignment." I was greeted by many raised eyebrows and quizzical looks when I told others in the Department where I would be working; many on the staff made half-joking remarks about needing a "bullet-proof vest." Many doubted the wisdom of sending a 22-year-old White guy fresh out of school to enforce the Zoning Code in the heart of "the ghetto." However, I myself was undaunted by the task -- my boss, who freely admitted I was working in one of the County's "armpits," has never forgotten the day, a few weeks into the job, when I earnestly told her I thought I could "make a difference" in Florence-Firestone. Everyone else thought that any attempt to "clean up" the community was a lost cause.

I was extremely proactive and aggressive from the start. Florence-Firestone was not an area where constituents lodged many complaints, so I had to go out and find problems to solve on my own. Soon I was opening upwards of 80 to 100 cases a month although I was only expected to open 40. Many of my fellow Zoning Enforcement Officers warned me to slow down, telling me that the caseload would become too much to handle and that I would get "burnt out," though they may have been more worried that I was making them "look bad," of course that was never my intention. My strategy was to be just as aggressive in closing cases as in opening them; by being well-organized and diligent in my follow-up while treating those I cited with respect and understanding, I was soon able to close about as many cases as I opened in a given month. I had built a model of high-volume "throughput" in code enforcement that would make Sam Walton proud.

As it turned out, I was "in the right place at the right time." After years of "benign neglect," the County had become firmly committed to improving its provision of services to Florence-Firestone and improving the quality of life for the community's residents. Late in 2002, the Florence-Firestone Community Enhancement Team (FFCET) was founded, and I was fortunate enough to be included in it from the beginning. The FFCET is kind of a "United Nations" that meets once a month and consists of representatives from the Board of Supervisors and every County agency that provides services to the community. The purpose of FFCET is for all County agencies to work collaboratively in order to develop initiatives to enhance and improve services across the board. I saw an opportunity to push for a code enforcement program I had long dreamed of, the Neighborhood Enhancement Team (NET). In the early months of 2003, I advocated heavily for the program and am proud to say it was the first initiative implemented under the aegis of the FFCET.

The NET, which built upon my own high-volume "throughput" model and previous programs my co-workers had developed, is an ambitious strategy to "clean up" private property in Florence-Firestone street-by-street, block-by-block. Each week I walk down a street with an inspector from Building and Safety's Property Rehabilitation Section and we look at every single property (from the public right-of-way) to identify and cite code violations. Our focus is on the more "minor" violations that cause the community to look unattractive and discourage investment: vehicles parked on the front lawn, inoperable vehicles, trash cans stored in public view, "junk and salvage" items stored outside (such as old furniture and appliances), overgrown vegetation, and "bootleg" carport and patio structures that abut neighboring properties. We leave notices at each property where we find violations and return 2 weeks later to determine compliance. We are accompanied by a Sheriff's escort, partly for our own security (as we have quite a high profile) but also to indicate that the County is serious about this effort and that we "mean business."

I had high hopes that the NET would be a success, but even I remain surprised by the results. About 70% of properties cited are brought into compliance within the initial 2 weeks given to comply, and (due to aggressive follow-up) nearly 100% are brought into compliance within 6 months. This rate of voluntary compliance is nearly unheard-of in code enforcement. I credit several aspects of the program that have garnered the community's support. First, we are only focusing on minor violations that have a major cumulative visual impact, and the entire street ends up looking much better. Second, we are "fair" in our approach, since we cite every house on the block for every violation and no one feels unfairly targeted. Third, people are impressed that the County is making an effort to walk down every street and aggressively enforce the codes, an action that was far overdue. As we've slowly moved from the northern end of the community southward, many residents have told us they heard about the program and knew we were coming. And, amazingly, we've had residents thank us for what we are doing -- even those who recieve citations -- because they understand and appreciate what we are trying to accomplish. Code enforcement is truly a thankless job, and to get this kind of feedback from the community is amazing.

After the first "trial run" of the NET in Fiscal Year 2003-04, everyone involved realized we'd need more resources to keep the program going on a permanent basis, and the results indicated it would be in the County's best interest to continue it. We asked Supervisor Burke's office for additional funding in the amount of $125,000 to create a new position solely responsible for the NET in Florence-Firestone during Fiscal Year 2004-05. We were fortunate to recieve the Supervisor's support and the additional funding. Every public agency wants to increase its budget, and management was gracious in largely crediting my efforts as being responsible for the additional funding, which has continued into Fiscal Year 2005-06. The NET has been so successful that Supervisor Burke's office is looking to allocate even more resources to expand it into other needy communities in the Second District.

In the past two years, the FFCET has made many more accomplishments beyond the NET. Graffiti has been more proactively and aggressively targeted; while it remains an issue, the prevalence of graffiti today is minor in comparison to only a few years ago. New street sweeping vehicles were acquired, and routes were redesigned to better serve the community. Several new signalized crosswalks were installed, along with a few new traffic lights, to calm traffic and provide more safety for pedestrians. New street signs were installed that include the County seal and the Florence-Firestone community name, creating a better sense of identity. Over $1 million was recently allocated to the Sheriff's Department to combat gangs as well as "quality of life" crimes. Most importantly, staff from the Community Development Commission specializing in community organizing identified leaders from community and institutional groups that were brought into the process, allowing for collaboration with residents, business owners, churches, schools, block clubs, and others. The participation of the community and institutional leaders has ensured ongoing support from a wide array of constituent groups who in the past weren't heavily involved in County programs and were skeptical about the FFCET effort.

The success of the FFCET has garnered a lot of attention from people throughout "the County family," including our Department's Director, who sits on an oversight committee responsible for the effort. The Director invited me to make a presentation on Florence-Firestone to the Department's entire staff at our semi-annual staff meeting last December. This presentation was a broad overview of all the positive things occurring in Florence-Firestone, touching upon FFCET briefly. The Director was pleased with my December presentation, so he asked me to do a second presentation that elaborated more on FFCET at the next staff meeting, which occurred in June. He also asked me to make a presentation to the Regional Planning Commission, a board of five "laypersons" appointed by the Board of Supervisors that reviews major development proposals as well as changes to the Zoning Code.

I know that most people's biggest fear is public speaking. Not so for me -- frankly, I love an audience. I am also fortunate in that I've always been a good public speaker, it isn't a skill I've had to develop over time. Still, I wasn't sure how the Commission would react or what kind of questions and comments they would have. After a few introductory remarks from my boss, I made my presentation (using PowerPoint), which was a synthesis of the two presentations I had made earlier to the Department's entire staff.

The Commission's response to my presentation, as well as the FFCET effort and the NET, was extremely positive. Frankly, it was a bit overwhelming for me, since their praise was effusive. The management also watched the presentation and was impressed, and my Director remarked that my presentations get better each time. The Commission's Secretary snapped a couple of photos after the presentation, which I've scanned and would like to share here:

L to R: DRP Director James Hartl, AICP, and yours truly

L to R: Commissioner Leslie Bellamy, Commissioner Esther Valadez, yours truly, Commissioner Harold Helsley

As you can see by the big smile on my face in these photographs, I was having a great morning. But the feeling was somewhat bittersweet, since I'd already decided to ask for a transfer out of Zoning Enforcement and to end my involvement with FFCET. After the presentation, my Administrator (my boss's boss) asked me in front of everyone whether I was willing to reconsider. I latched onto a comment made earlier by one of the Commissioners that Zoning Enforcement was a difficult job, comparing it to working at a slaughterhouse where you have to look a cow "in the eye" before you kill it. Although there are many positive aspects to the job, the many negative aspects have begun to wear on me and I want to exit gracefully before I lose my passion for improving Florence-Firestone, which would cause the quality of my work to suffer.

While I am proud of my success in Zoning Enforcement and in Florence-Firestone, it's key to my professional development to "move on" and not be associated solely with these efforts. A couple weeks prior to this presentation, a District Attorney had invited me to a meeting on illegal trash dumping, a topic not wholly related to code enforcement. In gauging my lukewarm response, he explained that he knew illegal trash dumping wasn't in my purview but that I would probably want to be involved since I am "Mr. Florence-Firestone." My career and my entire professional identity has become too intertwined with Florence-Firestone, and I want to move on to new challenges.

It's difficult to leave an assignment that has earned me a lot of kudos and praise, but I keep reminding myself that's never what I was seeking in the first place. It's more important to me that I can drive around Florence-Firestone, see that it is a far better place (at least far better looking) than it was four years ago, and be proud that I had a lot to do with the improvement. It's time for others to continue my efforts and effect even greater change. I can point to the fact that I've opened (and closed) over 2,500 cases and that there are few streets where my efforts didn't make some kind of an impact. I know I will miss working in Florence-Firestone and interacting with its residents, who deserve respect, good service, and a clean, attractive community just as much as wealthier and more politically powerful people do.

A couple hours after the presentation, I attended what would be my last FFCET monthly meeting. I announced my imminent departure and introduced the person I am training to replace me (ironically, a 22-year-old White guy fresh out of school). I recieved a genuine, appreciative round of applause and many commended my efforts over the years. This made my day even better, but it reminded me that I will miss working on the FFCET and intimately collaborating with public servants from a multitude of other County agencies.

A transfer list should be coming out within the next few weeks (at least I hope it will) and I'll find out what my new assignment will be. I am committed to bringing the same level of enthusiasm and effort to my next challenge -- I am confident that I can be succesful in other areas since I was able to meet my goal of "making a difference" in Florence-Firestone despite all the naysayers and the odds stacked against me.

I'll never have another job quite like being "Mr. Florence-Firestone."