Clean & Safe Program

With a desire to improve the business climate, competitiveness and quality of life in Downtown, property owners and the Downtown San Diego Partnership launched the Downtown Property-based Business Improvement District (PBID) in July of 2000.

Funded through property tax assessments, the PBID established the Clean and Safe Program to improve the appearance of Downtown's streets and enhance public safety for residents, employees and visitors.

The Clean and Safe Program is comprised of two components: Maintenance Ambassadors and Safety Ambassadors. Working together as the Clean and Safe Team, these individuals are committed to keeping Downtown San Diego clean, safe and friendly. The service area of the district covers 272 blocks of Downtown and includes the following neighborhoods: Core, Columbia, Marina, Gaslamp Quarter, East Village and Cortez.

Maintenance

The Clean and Safe Program delivers enhanced maintenance services through the hard work of its Maintenance Ambassadors. Work crews are deployed into the neighborhood districts 7 days a week, where they perform a variety of maintenance activities to supplement the City of San Diego's base-line services. The primary responsibilities for the Maintenance Ambassadors include:

• Sidewalk sweeping
• Trash and debris removal
• Power washing sidewalks
• Systematic graffiti removal
• Maintenance of landscaping, trees
• Weed abatement
• Emergency service

Unsure who to call if you see a broken traffic light, litter on the sidewalk, or graffiti on a building? Click here to see a diagram of who to contact if you see something damaged or defaced.

Public Safety

One of the primary goals of the Safety Ambassadors is to enhance and complement the City of San Diego's Police Department services. Using two-way radios and patrolling on foot and bicycles, Ambassadors act as an extra set of "eyes and ears" for law enforcement and property owners, and can respond to Clean and Safe service calls in a matter of minutes.

Safety Ambassadors are proactively engaging homeless individuals and providing them with useful information about the various social services available and where they can be found.

The Safety Ambassadors also:

• Deter aggressive panhandling and other nuisance crimes
• Work with the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) to provide social service outreach referrals
• Assist with directions and information
• Maintain open communications with police to report on-going issues
• Add a presence in Downtown to prevent vandalism and other undesirable behavior
• Conduct routine patrol of all Downtown parks (Children's Park, Gaslamp Square Park, Pantoja Park, Horton Square, and linear Park)
• Provide emergency services

For additional information or to request service, please contact:

Downtown San Diego Partnership
401 B Street, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: (619) 234-0201
Fax: (619) 234-3444

Clean & Safe Operations Office
615 "J." Street
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: (619) 234-8900
Fax: (619) 234-2303
E-Mail: wberry@downtownsandiego.org