Livability

LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) officially formed the Livability Services Division (LSD) in June 2019. LSD is a consolidation of multiple programs developed in 2015 by Mayor Garcetti’s Executive Directive 8: Clean Streets Initiative. These programs included: the CleanStat Street Indexing System, Citywide Receptacle Collection program, and citywide collection of Illegal Dumping. Rounding out LSD’s portfolio are a newly created Mobile Hygiene Unit (MHU) program and also a revamped homeless encampment clean-up service under the Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement (CARE and CARE+) program model. 
 
LASAN's Environmental Quality Programs under the Livability Services Division: CARE+, MHUs, Receptacles and Green Wire Basket Collections, and Illegal Dumping Collection programs are designed in such a way as to overlap and provide all-inclusive services to the City. All components are designed to address and remove health hazards and/or safety hazards, and solid waste from the public right-of-way.

CARE/CARE+ Teams

On October 1, 2019, LASAN’s LSD launched the Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement (CARE/CARE+) program providing CARE and CARE+ teams for immediate, dedicated service deployed regionally to ensure the highest level of service. These teams conduct citywide encampment clean-ups along with trash, litter/debris, and health hazard and/or safety hazard removal on the City's public rights-of-way. The primary mission of the CARE and CARE+ teams is to deliver services to the individuals experiencing homelessness within their service areas.

The CARE+ Teams are deployed across three main assignments:
  • CARE/CARE+ service for A Bridge Home Special Enforcement Cleaning Zones (ABH SECZs)
  • CARE+ service for Citywide Services
  • CARE+ service for Focused Service Zones (FSZ): Operation Healthy Streets Skid Row/Venice Beach (OHS), Downtown LA (DTLA), and Grand Ave/110 Fwy Corridor (Grand Ave)
CARE+ teams assigned to ABH SECZs provide full comprehensive cleanings including the identification, documentation, and removal of line-of-sight health and/or safety hazards, the removal of trash, litter, and debris, and the power washing of public rights-of-way to ensure fully sanitized areas for public safety. Additionally, the CARE teams assigned to ABH SECZs provide L.A.M.C. 56.11 compliance, spot cleaning services, health hazard and/or safety hazard identification, documentation, and removal, trash, litter, and debris removal. The CARE teams provide day-to-day maintenance to achieve safe and clean public rights-of-way.

LSD also provides comprehensive teams dedicated to specific high-need regions that require consistent, recurring, and dedicated services. In addition to the existing OHS Skid Row and Venice areas, these Focused Service Zones (FSZ) include the Grand and Flower Avenue Corridor and Downtown LA where teams operate 5 days a week.

Personal Property

Absent to an immediate threat to public health of safety, personal property will be stored and maintained in a secure location for a period of 90 days for the rightful owner to retrieve. If the property is not claimed within 90 days, then the property may be discarded by the City.

The rightful owner of the personal property that was removed and stored from LASAN's CARE and/or CARE+ operations may receive information about and/or make arrangements to retrieve stored personal property by contacting:

   Chrysalis (The Bin)
   213-806-6355 / 1-844-475-1244
   507 Towne Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90013
   Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm
   Saturday from 8:00am to 1:00pm

Please be prepared to describe the property, its location, and the date you believe the property was removed.

For options related to voluntary storage, please contact Chrysalis at the number provided above.

Mobile Hygiene Program (MHUs)

The MHU program launched as part of the redeveloped CARE/CARE+ program model. Starting with three trailer units and quickly growing to six units operating citywide Monday through Friday. The MHU provides restrooms and showers for unsheltered Angelenos. Each client is provided with hygiene products, clean towels, and a clean change of clothes. Additionally, clients receive a hygiene kit with essentials that they can keep with them. Since inception, the MHU program has serviced more than 23,000 guests.

Public Receptacle Collection Program

Automated Litter Bins (ALB’s) or public trash receptacles are serviced throughout the city by LSD. In Mayor Garcetti’s Executive Directive 8: Clean Streets Initiative, LASAN was committed to deploying 1,250 public trash receptacles annually across Los Angeles through the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Distribution sites were strategically chosen by utilizing data gathered through CleanStat quarterly indexing. In June 2019, the deployment of 5,000 ALB’s was completed. Additionally, over 500 Green Wire Baskets have been deployed to service locations in an effort to reduce litter around the area of unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness. 

As a way to maintain cleanliness between cleanings and to allow unsheltered residents more ability to clean up their environment, five hundred (500) Green Wire Baskets have been deployed at areas throughout the City at high need locations identified through CleanStat and waste collection metrics, along with other means. These baskets will be serviced citywide by the ten (10) crews every day. The ALBs and Green Wire Basket receptacles are monitored so that daily, twice-daily and/or weekend service can be provided when necessary.

Illegal Dumping Collection Program

LSD is responsible for responding to illegal dumping service requests (SRs). Routine service to illegal dumping sites is performed as part of Livability cleanup activities with dedicated teams scheduled Monday through Friday and with SRs being tracked through the MyLA311 system.

Due to the amount of unreported illegal dumping, LASAN has developed a proactive approach to address locations with chronic illegal dumping observed during cleanup operations. Using historic SR and CleanStat data, collection crews will be bolstered with dedicated staff that will be deployed to ensure an adequate level of service is conducted citywide. In addition, bi-annual CleanStat assessments will provide illegal dumping data citywide, which will complement the proactive approach.

CleanStat

The CleanStat Program is a street-by-street assessment to collect data used to determine cleanliness of the streets in the City of Los Angeles. The program assesses the city streets at least twice a year to identify unreported items like household items, e-wastes, tires, illegal dumping, mattresses, metal/white goods, shopping carts, loose litter, and weeds. The data are then inputted in a grading formula that indicates the cleanliness of a particular street. The grades are 1 (clean), 2 (moderately clean), and 3 (not clean). Further, the locations of the identified items are provided to collection groups like the LASAN collection yards and the Office of Community Beautification (OCB) to collect the items or abate areas. The CleanStat Program is a proactive approach to cleaning the city streets. This means that thousands of unreported items are picked up when they otherwise would not be.

The data, further, provides information that may help not only LASAN but also other agencies like the Council District Offices to implement proactive measures to keep the streets clean. For example, the data may be used to target areas and provide outreach such as information on reporting items that LASAN may pick-up. Additionally, the historical data allows LASAN so strategically deploy resources in areas where specific services are needed. For example, no dumping signs are installed in streets with high counts of illegal dumping.