Submitted By
Rob Sproule, Public Works Director
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Presentation and Discussion of the Village of Oak Park Fall Leaf Collection Program and Alternative Options
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Overview
Overview
At the Board meeting on November 20, 2023, Trustees expressed growing concerns regarding the safety and efficiency of the Village’s Fall Leaf Collection Program. Public Works staff was directed to evaluate the current program model for improvements and present alternatives to the Board.
For the past three months, Public Works staff completed the following actions to prepare the presentation: two planning meetings with our contracted residential hauler Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS); review of case studies of leaf collection programs in municipalities with similarities to Oak Park; tracked the historic duration of collection, associated costs, and tonnage of leaves collected with the current program model; engagement with the Village’s Vision Zero consultant to obtain high-level comments on the existing program through a safety lens; and consultation with Village staff from other departments that would be impacted by making changes to the program (Police, Development Services, and Neighborhood Services).
Staff has considered the program’s alignment with the Board goals of Community Affordability, Community Health and Safety, and Sustainability & Resiliency while exploring alternatives.
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Anticipated Actions/Commitments
Recommendation
Fall leaf collection requires complex coordination between residents, our contracted residential hauler, LRS, and Village staff across multiple departments/divisions. If the Board chooses to adopt the proposed alternative program model, staff anticipates that targeted outreach, education, and enforcement will be necessary for the program to succeed. Code revisions may also be required to codify the change and ensure compliance. Public Works staff is prepared to facilitate development of the processes and materials associated with this transition.
Report
Since 1994, the fall leaf collection program has run as a 6 to 8 week joint operation (late October - early December) between the Public Works Department and the waste hauler hired by the Village for residential refuse, recycling, and yard waste/compost services. Prior to 1994, the fall leaf program was performed entirely by the Public Works Department.
The current program model functions as follows: Residents of single-family homes (with 5 or fewer dwelling units) are instructed to rake their leaves directly into the street. Village employees work overnight to push the leaves into large piles at the corners where they will be accessible to the hauler’s equipment for collection the following day. Costs for this service are incorporated into residential refuse rates ($2.42/month per household in 2024).
Multi-family properties, commercial buildings, and institutions do not financially contribute to the program cost, however, their leaves are consistently collected through this residential service. This aspect of the current program model is nearly impossible to enforce due to the inability to identify the violating party after the leaves have been pushed into piles. Landscaping companies have also been witnessed dumping leaves from outside the community into Village piles overnight.
As discussed at the Board meeting on November 20, 2023, this collection method also presents significant safety and operational hazards to both residents and staff. Reported incidents include: vehicle fires; equipment damage; impaired visibility for motorists and pedestrians; clogged storm drains/flooding; inaccessibility at crosswalks; fly-dumping/contamination; illegally parked cars; and children playing in the piles.
Due to these potential risks and challenges, Village staff and the Village’s contracted waste hauler, LRS, propose the Village Board consider moving to a modified 6-week program where residents may place an unlimited number of un-stickered landscape bags of leaves in the parkway for collection on their designated service day. This change would directly address the concerns and challenges experienced with the current program model while also leading to additional improvements that have been identified through the evaluation process.
DEI Impact
•Potential financial burden to residents from the purchase of landscape bags likely impacting low to moderate single-family homeowners most.
•The act of bagging leaves could be more physically challenging than raking or blowing leaves into the street for some individuals.
Alternatives
Alternative 1: No Action - Maintain status quo and continue the current fall leaf collection program model.
Advantages:
• No increases in program cost to the Village or residents; LRS will honor the current program rate per our agreement for the remainder of the contract (March 2027)
Disadvantages:
• Continued fly dumping and participation of multi-family and commercial buildings, institutions, and landscaping companies without financial contribution
• No incentive for residents to mulch their leaves and compost them on site
• Continued traffic and pedestrian safety and accessiblity issues around streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks
• Issues with blocked storm drains and flooding incidents
Alternative 2: Direct staff to take next steps to adopt the newly-proposed program and move forward with the transition.
Advantages:
• No increases in program cost to the Village or residents; LRS will honor the current program rate per our agreement for the remainder of the contract (March 2027)
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions from elimination of overnight leaf pushing and number of gas-powered vehicles/equipment required for current operations
• Decreased labor costs due to fewer overtime hours/employees required for pushing leaves and street sweeping
• Decreased leaf volume associated with enforcement and exclusion of multi-family and commercial buildings, institutions, and landscaping companies
• Further waste reduction from encouraging residents to mulch their leaves and compost them on site
•Safer, cleaner, and more accessible streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks
•Fewer blocked storm drains and flooding incidents
Disadvantages:
• Potential financial burden to residents from the purchase of landscape bags
• Possible overtime cost for additional enforcement staff on weekends and off-hours during the transition
•Short-term costs of educational materials and marketing strategies during the transition
Alternative 3: Delay action to collect public input on the fall leaf collection program via the Engage Oak Park platform to further inform the Board’s decision.
Advantages:
•The Board will collect additional viewpoints and perspective on the issue
•The Board will have time to engage in conversation with their constituents on the issue
Disadvantages:
• If the decision is made to transition to a new program format, the delay in the decision will shorten the time staff have to prepare the community for the move to a bagging program for fall 2024
• Public Input from social media and the Engage Oak Park platform is not empirical data and only represents the views of the participants