ROANOKE, Va. – For two years now, neighbors living in the 500 block of McDowell Avenue have been concerned over the prolonged buildup of trash at one of the properties in the neighborhood.
Neighbors say that this house has been building up trash in the front and backyard, porch and even the sidewalk.
“When it rains, it smells. It smells like mold or whatever,” Janice Walker said. “It smells really nasty.”
They have recently taken action, sending the City of Roanoke multiple complaints and letters saying that the accumulation of trash is a health violation and that something needs to be done about it.
Recently, the city has inspected the property and found that the complaints were indeed valid, citing the property owner with a zoning violation for having assorted items stored outside for an extended period of time.
“It was an accumulation of assorted items from household furniture to maybe car parts, buckets, bins, containers, that sort of thing throughout the property itself,” Roanoke Codes Compliance Administrator Jeffery White said.
After there was no response to the violation, a summons was given to the property owner. The owner appeared in court and was found guilty, fined and was expected to bring the property to compliance. When that didn’t happen, the city brought the owner back to court, where they were found guilty and fined again. The most recent fine was for $1,000, but according to White, $800 was suspended.
However, the property owner has recently begun cleaning up the property, bringing a UHaul truck to help pick up some of the garbage, which the city says will help clear them of any potential fines and citations in the future.
“Particularly through the sidewalk, area, things have been removed,” White said. “On the east side of the property - the front and east side of the property -items have been removed as well.”
Neighbors tell 10News that this is what they wanted all along: a clean neighborhood without trash littering the sidewalks.
“They started cleaning, and I’m hoping they can finish and get our neighborhood back because it looks bad,” Walker said.
