Shortly after Christmas 2010, residents of Glenview neighborhood's Greenwood Avenue awoke to fluorescent spray-paint streaked across their sidewalks and city-issued sidewalk repair notices in their mailboxes. 

They had just become actors in the city’s ongoing attempt to accelerate its sidewalk repair program.

By coming together, the tight knit neighbors convinced the city to issue a group permit for the repairs. This unprecedented measure saved the residents a hefty sum in permit costs and laid the foundations for similar negotiations with the city.

According to Kristine Shaff, Oakland Public Works’ Public Information Officer, the city has approximately 1,100 miles of sidewalk, with only 84 percent in good condition. Of the damaged 16 percent, 83 percent is private responsibility.

“Overall, we estimate $60 million in private responsibility, and $20 million in city repair responsibility,” Shaff said. 

State law and local ordinances establish that the area in front of a home or business is the responsibility of the property owner. This means property owners are responsible for maintaining sidewalks - and they are liable for injuries caused by a poorly maintained sidewalk. An exception is made for damage cause by city-owned trees. 

“We don’t just go after neighborhoods and say ‘hey we can get some money here.’ It’s usually driven by a complaint,” Shaff said. 

Francesca Kuglen, one of the Greenwood Avenue residents hit with a repair notice, said she believes this is precisely what happened in her neighborhood: A wheelchair-bound resident brought a legitimate complaint about a particularly egregious strip of sidewalk; as a result the whole block was charged with repairing its walkways.

Eleven families received notices. Of these, nine had considerable damage that required a permit for repair. The permit fees tallied to thousands of dollars and with Greenwood residents hard hit by the recession, nobody was prepared to pay so much.

Kuglen coordinated a neighborhood mobilization.

“The first step was we connected with each other and realized we were all having the same problem,” she said. But her sidewalk damage merely consisted of a raised edge that required filing, a non-permit job. 

“I took this on for the neighborhood because I knew they were struggling. We’re all struggling financially,” she added.

Kuglen headed the effort to mitigate the situation for her neighborhood. She began contacting city officials in order to assess the group’s options.  Initially, the city was inflexible.

“They had no intention of reassessing the matter or hearing about hardships,” Kuglen said. Officials cited injuries caused by poor sidewalk conditions as the reason for the strict rules. 

On May 13, the Greenwood Avenue residents received final notices threatening to serve liens if the repairs were not made. The neighbors were ready to fight the city at that point.

“People wanted to sue the city,” Kuglen said. “But we finally asked ourselves ‘what’s best for us? And what’s best for the city?’ I went back to the city with that in mind.”

It was Kuglen who engineered the idea of a single, mass permit for the neighborhood.

“I thought ‘why don’t we try something that hasn’t been done before?’” She approached the city open to negotiations, but she had a back up plan: “If the city won’t negotiate, then we’ll go to the newspapers.”

Kuglen said city officials hardly knew how to respond to her initially.

“They were stunned. My mantra to them was ‘it is within your power to do this. You have to give and we have to give.’” 

Official after official told her that nothing could be done. But the entrepreneurial businesswoman did not give up. 

“People just kept saying no to me, but when you own your own company you understand that most rules have just been made up by someone … somebody has the power to change the rules, but most people are intimidated by the system.”

In June, Kuglen started making crucial alliances with city officials. Eventually she reached Waribugo Frank, Construction Inspector for CEDA. “He’s the one who made everything happen. He was extraordinarily humane.”

June and July rains created delays, but once work began in August the multi-house project was done within a week.

“The neighbors were delighted,” Kuglen said. “And the contractor who did the work said it was one of the best jobs he’s done.” 

Because the group permit allowed for large-scale efficiency, contractors gave the Greenwood Avenue residents discounted rates for the work. 

“If you can team up, you’re going to win on every level. Everybody is happy; our block is stronger,” Kuglen said. “This is Oakland helping Oakland.” 

The Greenwood Avenue experiment is the first time the city of Oakland has issued this type of group permit, and officials say they are pleased with the endeavor. 

“This was actually the first time, although this was in the plans," Shaff said. “It speaks to the whole idea of everybody pulling together and doing something.”

The success of the Greenwood Avenue model makes group permits a viable - even desirable - option for future repair projects.

“People taking an interest in their infrastructure and our infrastructure makes all the difference in the world,” Shaff said. "People have been disengaged for a long time.

"Once people participate in something, they’re engaged a little bit and they become more knowledgeable. Then they become more able to make the decisions that we need our citizens to make. It’s also just about camaraderie and civic pride.”