HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10556INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 21-10556
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 23, 2021
Page 1 of 2
SUBJECT: RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLEAN-UP UNDER BRIDGES DOWNTOWN
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
The City Council has requested information on clean up along highways and under bridges around
downtown. The proximity to organizations that serve the homeless results in homeless camps and litter,
with a high frequency of repeat and in some cases, near perpetual violations and problems.
In addressing these issues, there is a complex mixture of maintenance agreements between the State and
City and there are multiple agencies that assist the homeless and address such problems. Typically,
agencies work on a proactive basis and often times the problems are resolved without input from the
community. However, sometimes the problems are large enough or linger long enough to attract the
attention of the public. In these cases, staff recommends that the public report their concern to the City:
1. Call the City Call Center at (817) 392-1234; or
2. Send an e-mail to the City Call Center at 1234@FortWorthTexas.gov; or
3. Report the concern on the City’s Smart App: MyFW
The Call Center has an application that receives, distributes, tracks, and upon completion closes the
reported concern. During this process, departments work together to respond to the homeless needs,
enforce violations and clean up the camps. All of this occurs with a single communication to one of the
contact points listed above.
Even so, some members of the public want to contact the responsible department directly and will make
calls to Police, Directions Home, TPW, Code Compliance and others. This is one of those situations
where no single department is responsible. Police/Hope Team generally make the first contact, other
agencies might be brought in to assist with outreach and finally Code Compliance will be called to arrange
for the clean-up (working with TxDOT or City crews alone depending on the areas/type of clean-up).
While contacting the Call Center is the most efficient way to handle these, a call to Police, Directions
Home or Code Compliance will also trigger the abatement process; however, calling Code Compliance
first will not result in a faster or immediate clean-up unless the outreach and enforcement has already
been conducted.
Effects of CDC Covid Guidelines and 2021 Winter Storm
The CDC COVID guidelines for the homeless recommend non-congregant living where possible including
allowing outdoor living arrangements. This has been exacerbated by the reduction in beds at shelters as
they attempt to meet social distancing and other safety protocols indoors. This has led to greater
outreach, longer compliance times and more leniency for camps on public property.
The 2021 Winter Storm, with historic low temps into the single digits, resulted in even more camps under
bridges as the homeless sought out more protected camping areas and closer proximity to services and
warming stations. During the storm and for about one week after the storm, the public, churches and
others responded with an overabundance of blankets, clothes, food and other items which resulted in a lot
of waste. While some of the items provided comfort and assistance, the large quantity in a short period of
time resulted in litter.
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 21-10556
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 23, 2021
Page 2 of 2
SUBJECT: RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLEAN-UP UNDER BRIDGES DOWNTOWN
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
Maintenance Agreements and Responsibility
The City has Municipal Maintenance Agreements (MMA) with TxDOT for maintenance and cleaning under
the bridges and alongside roadways within the I-30, I-35 and Lancaster overpasses. Responsibility for
cleaning up litter and camps in the underpass areas is shared between TxDOT and the City (Code
Compliance) with the lead agency for each area varying by location. For this reason, the City always
recommends contacting the City Call Center and allowing pertinent staff to determine responsibility and
coordinate a clean-up.
While TxDOT and its contractors are responsible for mowing rights-of-way and maintaining litter and
debris along and underneath State of Texas highways, this occurs on a limited and infrequent basis.
Mowing and deep litter clean-up only occurs four times a year. On highways, debris and larger litter
occurs more frequently with clean-up on an ad hoc basis as the need arises. The City, by agreement,
supplements some mowing and litter abatement around the downtown interchanges. This includes twice
a day litter clean-up along Lancaster by Presbyterian Night Shelter and supplemental mowing during the
summer months.
Homelessness Clean-up Process
Specific activities related to the homeless camping under the bridges and within the rights-of-way begins
with coordinated education and outreach efforts through the Police Department’s Hope Team, Directions
Home and partnering homeless organizations. Upon communicating all the available resources, safety
concerns, trespassing and additional violations to the homeless camping, they are given a brief time
period to collect their belongings and locate acceptable housing. Once the areas are vacated, the Code
Compliance Litter Abatement Team coordinates cleaning the areas in conjunction with TxDOT,
Presbyterian Night Shelter and/or Upspire Program and other contractors as needed.
Homeless camp management is not a linear process. City agencies, non-profits and the greater
community attempt to balance humanitarian needs with public health, welfare and safety considerations.
Camping under bridges and along highways is dangerous and agencies address these on a proactive and
ongoing basis. Even so, early intervention is key to timely abatement. The City encourages residents to
be our eyes and ears and report camps, illegal dump sites and other hazards through the City Call Center.
For questions regarding this information, please contact Brandon Bennett, Director of the Code
Compliance Department, at 817-392-6322.
David Cooke
City Manager