Orinda Toys with Pay to Pave Government

Orinda approved a public works policy Tuesday that will offer a way for citizens to improve their roads directly – by paying the city out of pocket for repairs. Since Orindans have gone as far as attempting to fill potholes themselves, this policy allows citizens a legal route for addressing their needs.

Called the Neighborhood Initiated Road Repair Policy, the new program represents a response to growing citizen frustration with backlogged street problems.

The pilot program will be coordinated with a neighborhood group representing Crest View Drive, and the city will maintain control over how the project progresses. Future projects will be vetted by the public works staff, which will produce a budget requirement for the neighborhood to meet.

Representatives from neighborhood groups advocated the policy during public comment (one had a little help from a glass of wine) and cheered when it passed, thanking the council for its partnership and cooperation.

The city council expressed a few concerns about the policy, although members unanimously supported its passage while taking care to apologize for the need to create such a unique program in the first place.

Councilmember Sue Severson worried that when future citywide road funding initiatives hit the ballot, neighborhood groups might not support the measures because "we already took care of our little section."

Councilmember Steve Glazer asked about the possibility of a single owner requesting that only his or her portion of the street be fixed, and the staff balked at the idea.

"No, I do not want to do a patchwork," Public Works Director Charles Swanson said. "I would discourage the owner from doing the project."

Peripheral issues like drainage and grading will impact the feasibility of a project's approval. Mayor Mike McCormick reminded the council that, "it's not just the street, it's the stuff underneath as well."

The city attorney is researching ways that the funds raised by neighborhoods might be tax deductible for citizens, but so far she believes that they are not because they are a benefit to an individual or private group.

The council made sure to remind the audience that the goal is for this policy to become irrelevant in the near future.

"This is not the way we want to run our city," Glazer explained. "This comes out of great frustration, and we are in this awkward situation. It's unfortunate."