CITY OF VANCOUVER

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

 

Date:

February 6, 2004

 

Author:

T. Hammel

 

Phone No.:

604-873-7370

 

RTS No.:

3563

 

CC File No.:

3501

 

Meeting Date:

March 25, 2004

TO:

Standing Committee on City Services & Budgets

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services and General Manager of Community Services

SUBJECT:

Review of Graffiti Program - Service Delivery and Environmental Impacts

In July, 2003, Council approved the Graffiti Management Program as an ongoing program with increased property owner assistance in the form of free paint and removal assistance to owners of heritage buildings.

In April of 2002, Council approved an Anti-graffiti Strategy for the City of Vancouver. The goal of the strategy was to substantially eradicate graffiti in Vancouver. The five pronged strategy consists of the following:

A Leadership

B Prevention

C Eradication

D Enforcement

E Community Empowerment

On June 14, 2001, Council approved a policy which states that, as a condition of continued placement on the City Street Allowance, owners of furniture or amenities (e.g. newsboxes, bus shelters, utility kiosks, hoarding, etc.) are required to remove graffiti within three working days from the date of notification by the City unless a weekly inspection and cleaning program, acceptable to the City, is implemented. Further, that any offensive or racist graffiti be removed within 24 hours of notification.

This report responds to the following two outstanding issues raised as part of a review of the Graffiti Management Program reported to Council in July, 2003:

As part of the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement between the City and CUPE Local 1004, the Union and City agreed to explore ways of improving the availability of light duty work to assist with employee rehabilitation. As part of this process, a Joint Committee will examine the business case for City forces carrying out some graffiti removal work and report back to City Council. In the meantime, staff recommend extending the graffiti removal contract for a further year, with flexibility for allowing portions of the work to be done by City forces if a business case for this can be demonstrated.

In response to concerns raised about environmental impacts of graffiti removal, staff retained a consultant to identify a set of Best Management Practices relating to graffiti removal. This report recommends adoption of these BMPs for graffiti removal from City facilities. The purpose of these is to identify practices that protect the public and environment, and result in discharge of only clear water waste into the storm sewer system. The consultant also reviewed a product that was distributed to the public by staff to assist in the removal of graffiti. Their findings indicate that the product is of low toxicity, comparable to other commercially available cleaning products and unlikely to result in harm to the environment or the public if used appropriately. Based on this review, staff recommend that this product be made available to the public.

This report reviews the City's Graffiti Management Program in response to Council direction at its July 24, 2003 meeting with respect to:

In July, 2003, staff presented Council with a comprehensive review of the Graffiti Management Program. At that time, Council approved the program on an ongoing basis with additional resources to assist private property owners with graffiti removal and requested a further report back in one year on resource levels and program strategies. Environmental concerns were raised at that meeting about practices of the City's contractor and a product distributed by City staff to assist the public with graffiti removal. As an interim measure, staff have been monitoring the work of the City's contractor more closely and suspended distribution of the graffiti removal product pending this review.

In response to a request from CUPE 1004, the General Manager of Engineering Services agreed to review the possibility of graffiti removal from City facilities being done by City forces. The City currently has two contracts for the removal of graffiti from City facilities, buildings and parks. These contracts have been extended on a month-to-month basis pending this review.

1. Graffiti Removal Service Delivery Mechanisms

As part of the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement between the City and CUPE Local 1004, the Union and the City agreed to continue the work of a Joint Committee on light duty and employee disability. This committee will be preparing a business case for City Council that will examine ways of improving the availability of light duty work that can be used for employee rehabilitation, temporary light duty assignments and employee accommodation.

In a preliminary review of costs, staff estimate that having graffiti removal work from City facilities done by City staff would cost about double the current contract amount. This is primarily due to the economies of scale achievable by the contractor, who is doing work for other building owners throughout the City. The type of work also requires a specialized set of skills and knowledge and supporting product research that would be difficult for the City to maintain at a reasonable cost.

However, it may be possible for City forces to undertake portions of the work that can be done with simple removal techniques or painting such as removals from lamp standards, traffic signs, traffic controllers, and fire hydrants. This work can be done with basic products and requires less continuity of knowledge. If this work can be set up for employees requiring light duty work, the City may save in Workers Compensation Board premiums and this could improve the cost-effectiveness of this work. It may also be possible to combine this work with poster removal work and improve the effectiveness of that program. The business case for this work will be reviewed as part of the Joint Committee established under the Memorandum of Agreement between the City and CUPE Local 1004 and reported back to City Council.

In the interim, the contract for removal of graffiti from City facilities should be continued. It is recommended that the removal contract with Goodbye Graffiti be extended for a further one year term, subject to an agreement to the satisfaction of the General Manager of Engineering Services. This agreement would contain a reopener clause to provide for City forces taking on the work identified above. Based on discussions with the City's graffiti removal contractor, staff expect to be able to negotiate a reduction in the price of the contract. The budget for this work can also be further reduced by eliminating some contingency that was built in to cover uncertainties about ongoing removal costs. A reduction of $70,000 in the budget for removal costs will be reflected in the 2004 Operating Budget.

2. Environmental Issues

At the July 24, 2003 City Services & Budgets Committee meeting, Council requested an independent environmental assessment of the graffiti program including how to provide Best Management Practices to deal with potential waste discharges into municipal sewer systems. In the Fall of 2003, staff retained the services of Golder & Associates to carry out this environmental assessment.

The consultant reviewed the City's current practices and developed a set of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for graffiti removal. These BMPs are based on the City's current contract requirements with respect to graffiti removal, the City's Sewer and Watercourse By-Law and a review of BMPs in several major cities in North America. The consultant also reviewed the citrus-based paint remover that has been distributed by the City to assist property owners with graffiti removal from their properties. The distribution of this product has been suspended pending this review. The consultant's report "Environmental Review of Graffiti Removal Practices in the City of Vancouver" is on file with the City Clerk.

The City's current practices with respect to contracted graffiti removal from City facilities can be summarized as follows:

These practices already provide a high degree of environmental and public protection with respect to the use of hazardous chemicals and discharges into the City's sewer system. Staff propose increasing the level of protection by adopting Best Management Practices developed by the consultant for graffiti removal from City facilities. These practices will require the containment of any cleaning agents used in the removal process, screening of particulates and discharge of only clear water waste into the storm sewer system. They also cover general practices with respect to graffiti prevention, worker health and safety, chemical restrictions, use of cleaning agents, chemical storage and compliance monitoring. It is proposed that these BMPs detailed in the consultant's report be adopted by the City for graffiti removal from City facilities. They would also be distributed to graffiti removal companies by the City's Environmental Protection Branch. These BMPs would be updated from time to time by the General Manager of Engineering Services in consultation with staff from the City's Environmental Protection Branch.

With respect to the citrus-based paint remover previously distributed by the City, the consultant notes that this product contains two active ingredients. D-limonene is a naturally occurring product extracted from the rind of citrus fruits and is used as an environmentally friendly cleaning product. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) is an organic solvent used as a paint and graffiti remover. These compounds are found in other household cleaning products.

In reviewing the toxicology of these compounds, the consultant concludes that these compounds are considered to be of relatively low toxicity, but that appropriate personal protection is recommended during use. The compounds are not currently classified as carcinogens or reproductive toxicants by Canadian (Health Canada) or US agencies (US EPA), and they are both biodegradable. Toxicity of D-Limonene to aquatic life is rated moderate based on tests involving exposure of aquatic life to high concentrations of this compound. Given the low concentrations of the active ingredient (typically range from 2-5% based on standard product formulations) and spray and wipe applications with small amounts of the product, toxicity to aquatic life is not an issue. At high doses, NMP has been linked to developmental effects in test animals; however, exposure to this product during typical spray and wipe applications would be at concentrations considerably less than those associated with this testing. Use of personal protective equipment such as gloves, long sleeve shirts and goggles would minimize exposure.

This product has proven effective in enlisting the assistance of the public in removing graffiti from public and private property and is among the most benign products available that are effective in removing graffiti. It is recommended that staff resume the distribution of this product to public volunteers to assist them with graffiti removal. The removal kits provided prior to the suspension of distribution included rubber gloves, goggles and instructions regarding use and personal protection. The contents of the kit and instructions are appropriate given the consultant's review.

An extension of the existing contract for graffiti removal from City facilities as recommended in this report will allow a budget reduction of $70,000 for this program which will be reflected in the 2004 Operating Budget.

A potential opportunity for providing additional light duty work for injured employees will be explored with CUPE1004 through the Joint Union and Employer Committee on Light Duty and Employee Disability as set out in the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement between the City and CUPE Local 1004. This review will investigate the business case for having City forces carry out some graffiti removal work for report back to Council.

The adoption of a set of Best Management Practices for graffiti removal from City facilities as recommended in this report would provide more specific information on how the graffiti removal industry can comply with the City's Sewer & Watercourse By-Law. This should result in an increased level of protection to the environment.

CONCLUSION

This report recommends approval of a set of environmental Best Management Practices for graffiti removal developed by a consultant. These practices will ensure a high level of protection to the environment and the public related to graffiti removal. The consultant also reviewed environmental impacts of a product distributed to the public by staff to remove graffiti. Based on the consultant's findings, staff recommend continuing the distribution of this product to assist the public with graffiti removal.

Staff will report back on the possibility of having City forces carry out a portion of the graffiti removal work currently done by a contractor. This will be done jointly with CUPE Local 1004 as part of an initiative to review ways of improving disability management of City staff.

* * * * *

cs20040325.htm

Comments or questions? Send us e-mail at info@city.vancouver.bc.ca
© 2002 City of Vancouver