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MSIC Areas of Focus

The MSIC is tasked with addressing areas of focus that fall under our charter of safety and community improvement. These focus areas are primarily driven by input and effort from Montclair-area residents and MSIC Steering Committee members. Other individuals, such as Oakland's District 4 leadership and certain Oakland city services, also provide assistance and direction for MSIC's various areas of focus.

Recognizing that organized neighborhoods in the greater Montclair area are the best way to involve residents to address issues of local concern, MSIC is working actively with community leaders and organizations to motivate, support and recognize these Montclair Organized Neighborhoods (MONs). Through community meetings, special interest networking, local training and recognition events, MSIC is working to help develop and sustain 100% organized neighborhoods in our area.

MSIC supports four primary areas of focus for these organized neighborhoods and our community as a whole:

• Beautification
• Crime Prevention
• Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response
• Traffic & Pedestrian Safety

These areas of focus can be broken down into specific issues of concern, which can then be addressed by the responsible individuals or groups. Two such areas of concern, for example, are:

• Mail/Identity Theft (Crime Prevention)
• Blight & Dumping (Beautification)

Mail/Identity Theft has been a main topic of community meetings and E-mail communications. This issue has been worked on by the Crime Prevention Team that is addressing vandalism, robberies and other crimes in our area. As a result, locking mailboxes were reviewed and recommended by the MSIC, and guidelines for reporting mail theft were published.

In addition, we work closely with the Oakland Police Department and pass on to residents from time to time any bulletins and alerts they provide to us that we feel are relevant to those of us living in the greater Montclair area. We also provide to them a list of priorities that the community has agreed are where we want the police to focus their attention.

Blight and Dumping issues were brought up at an early community meeting. Since that time the Beautification Projects Team has been working on efforts to reduce the amount of litter and dumping in our neighborhoods, and has also been the driving force for significant landscaping improvements, including the Short Line Pocket Park.

Vegetation management is another beautification issue that also has implications regarding wildfire control and emergency preparedness. A current hot topic in this area is the use of herbicides to control vegetation. You can learn more about this at Herbicides.

Please visit any of these areas of focus links above that are of interest or concern to you. The best way to begin to address these issues is to establish and work with your MON on local neighborhood matters, and to work with the MSIC and other MONs and related groups on topics that affect the entire community. The MSIC is here to help you address important issues within these and any other areas of focus--please don't hesitate to contact us for more information on how we can be of assistance.