Good property conditions make for more livable and attractive neighborhoods that can better support private reinvestment. Well-kept neighborhoods also provide a healthy and safe environment in which to live, work and play. The maintenance and upkeep of all properties should be promoted. Quality of life is dependent on safe neighborhoods. Gangs, drug crime, and drive-by shootings harm all those involved, but they also harm the reputation of the neighborhood.
Criminal activity exists in all neighborhoods and needs to be aggressively addressed.
Graffiti and blight such as abandoned, dilapidated buildings contribute to a public perception of danger. Environmental contaminants in some areas are a real, but unperceived danger. The Freeway Mitigation program was established in 1988 to mitigate freeway impacts on nearby residential areas. The program uses capital improvement bond funds to prepare specific plans for the City's planned and existing freeway corridors and then to fund those mitigation projects. Each specific plan responds to the unique characteristics found in their respective areas and involves citizens in all aspects of the project.