Key Challenges in Our District

Various surveys and interviews in the past 5 years have yielded essentially the same challenges and issues in our district. They include: vacant retail spaces, general concerns about street cleanliness and safety, and the quality of life issues that ensue (trash, filth, sense of insecurity, decrease in property values), and so on. Update January 2020: We now have data to help us prioritize services. See the post on the Rubbish Audit.

Environmental Enhancements (Clean & Safe)

CBD services are by regulation, in addition to and not a substitute for city department services. The CBD will monitor service delivery and report any deficiencies. Existing services provided to the Discover Polk community by SFPD, MTA, Department of Public Works, and Public Utilities Commission, as well as the schedule of mechanical street sweeping for the district are listed below:

(1) Department of Public Works Mechanical sweeping schedule for the Discover Polk neighborhood. We are actively taking the necessary steps to ensure that streets in the DPCBD are regularly included in the mechanical sweeping schedule. (This requires support from 50% of residents on targeted streets because of associated temporary parking restriction, and approval by city agencies)

(2) Existing services by the city will continue to be delivered on the current schedule. Many of these services require a report to 311, and generally speaking, DPW does not commit to a timeline for resolution of service calls. Property owners are subject to fines if graffiti on private property is cited and not abated within 30 days. The CBD will work with property owners to achieve graffiti removal from private property within 48 hours. Without signed permission for abatement from property owners, abatement is considered vandalism. We have a form that property owners and their agents can sign and submit to the CBD, allowing us to abate street-level graffiti.

The CBD will provide Environmental and Economic Enhancements to the Discover Polk community. The proposed Environmental Enhancement services (clean and safe) and delivery schedule can be found here: Proposed CBD Environmental enhancements.

Economic Health of Retail

Our merchants are the lifeblood of the community; without them, we could be in Anywhere, USA. We will work with OEWD (Office of Economic & Workforce Development), the Small Business Commission and Polk District Merchants Association to nurture and preserve the vitality of Middle Polk businesses. Business promotion, efforts to activate vacant retail space, events, and sponsorship are among the actions we can take.