Much of it stems from the local political acceptance of human services revolving around the value-free service delivery model, which does not ask from the population being served to assume any personal responsibility for changing their life, resulting in their congregating in the downtown area close to those services they are attracted to.
Bob Shallit: Fed up with K Street blight, agency heads to R
By Bob Shallit - bshallit@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Fed up with crime and blight, a state agency is fleeing K Street.
The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development is leaving its digs at 818 K on Friday and moving into a CalPERS-owned building at 400 R St.
A chance to consolidate staffers from two downtown locations into one building is partially the reason for the move. But not the main motivation.
"I've just had it with my people having to (work on K Street)," says Robert David, the office's chief deputy director.
"It's a scary work environment. Our people are accosted for money. Women are hassled. There's open drug dealing," he says.
The agency, which coordinates health planning efforts and hospital expansions, has occupied space since 1992 in the former Kress Co. building, but in the past two years has been on a month-to-month lease. Its 160 employees will be relocated by week's end. An additional 260 OSHPD staffers working at Ninth and P streets will be moved by next spring to R Street, where the agency has signed an eight-year lease.
David says the state agency would have remained on K Street had the city been more successful at cleaning up the long-blighted 700 and 800 blocks.
"It's right on light rail and close to Downtown Plaza. Those are benefits," he says. But those advantages were outweighed by the area's problems – and by the frustration of waiting for city redevelopment efforts to kick in.
"It didn't look like anything was going to improve (soon)," David says.
