Discussion continues about what the city can do to get landowners to clean up messy properties in Warrenton. Alderman Gary Auch, Ward 2, introduced the topic at the board of aldermen meetings Aug. 2 …
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Discussion continues about what the city can do to get landowners to clean up messy properties in Warrenton.Alderman Gary Auch, Ward 2, introduced the topic at the board of aldermen meetings Aug. 2 and Aug. 16, saying the city needs to have a mechanism in place to motivate property owners to clean up their lots. At issue are homes where trash accumulates and seems to sit for long periods.Auch mentioned properties in his ward that have had problems, such as on McKinley Avenue and Steinhagen Road.“Most of the complaints I get always seem to be about rental property,” Auch said. He said the city needs to be able to address properties where trash, furniture and junk tends to pile up. And it needs to be cleaned up in a timely manner.“It would feel better if you could go back to the person who complained and say ‘This will be fixed in 10 days,’ as opposed to ‘Well, there’s got to be a courtesy notice, and see how it syncs with the muni courts, and if the court passes . . .’ It doesn’t give them any hope,” Auch said.Christopher Graville, city attorney, and Terri Thorn, director of operations, said the city could try to reduce the time it takes to respond to code violations.Usually a courtesy notice offers residents 60 days to correct city complaints. If not, the city issues a notice of violations summons. Graville and Thorn offered as an option, skipping the courtesy notice and instead sending a notice of violations summons to speed things along. Most people do respond to the requests, officials say.“Since April 2015, we’ve sent 593 courtesy notices. Of those, only 141 notices of violations and 76 1/4 percent responded in 10 days, so I think that part is working,” said Jack Hanff, the city’s zoning officer and building commissioner.“Trash, unlicensed vehicles and weeds are always the top three.” Hanff said when a resident contacts the city and shows good faith that they are really trying to solve the issue, the city works with them.Thorn suggested the board take more time to discuss the matter before taking action.City of Warrenton
