CITY FOCUS:Repairs to city streets overdue

Tired of waiting for the city to remove trees or make badly needed repairs on your street? The Public Works Commission may have just found a solution.

City officials have proposed changing how they prioritize public works projects. Instead of taking projects on a first-come, first-served basis, city officials want to base the work on need.

There are about 84 streets with damaged sidewalks and street gutters due to deep roots from older trees.

“It didn’t seem like a very efficient process,” Councilman Keith Bohr said of the first-come, first-served priority. “We have got to really go by a criteria of need,” Bohr said.

Many Huntington Beach residents have complained of mature trees buckling sidewalks and street gutters. Aside from making the damaged sidewalks obstacle courses, the deep roots have damaged the drainage system. That has led to standing water after rain.

The goal is to retain two lists: one of the 84 streets and a second one that incorporates revisions and ranks new streets based on the need for repairs, said Dave Webb, deputy public works director.

City officials will not accept any more requests for repairs until the matter of the proposed revisions is settled.

City officials began work on revising the petition process in August after council members, fed up with the controversy over tree removal on Brush Drive, directed them to come up with a better plan.

In 2005, Brush Drive residents were divided over whether the mature trees in their neighborhood should be cut down. They battled it out for months in City Hall with petitions and counter petitions.

One group, led by Bob Valeski, who originally put the street on the petition list a decade ago, fought to remove the older trees.

Neighbor and passionate tree-lover Theresa Chaque disagreed, but the city decided to go ahead with the delayed $3-million public improvement project.

Under the new system, city workers plan to notify owners in advance of funding the project. The delay in the Brush Drive project was a costly affair for the city.

The city will divide its available budget between the two lists and will repair streets as soon as money for the projects becomes available.

“It’s been a hit or miss over the years with the budget,” Webb said. Keeping the original list will ensure that people who have been waiting a long time are not disappointed.

Streets can be removed from the list if the majority of property owners agree to it and file a petition.

Councilman Don Hansen suggested using a standard petition form to help residents understand what they were signing.

“The Brush Drive incident brought out many people saying ‘I didn’t know what I was signing up for,’ ” he said.