Who made this big mess?! BOS holds Public Hearing to deal with “Nuisance Properties”

County Attorney Blake Teller went before the Board of Supervisors on Monday requesting the Board to declare four locations as nuisance properties.

After the Board voted to open the public hearing, Teller made sure everyone had signed in. Each individual had been notified of the accusation, and that if their properties were declared nuisances, they would have one year to tidy the troublesome areas. After which, the city would step in and clean it for them, but with the drawback of a lien being placed on each property until a $1,500 fee be paid along with cost of cleanup.

Teller then brought each property up to vote on individually. For “evidentiary purposes” photos were supplied to the Board showing the clutter, “tires, other debris” etc.

During voting, Supervisor Shawn Jackson requested clarification on how/why specific yards were chosen to be considered Nuisance Properties, “How do we determine one area… versus the many [messy] areas around the county.”

President Barfield replied, “These are properties that are habitually brought up by other residents, nearby property owners and so forth as being a nuisance in their particular area. Officer Gibbs does his compliance circuits as well.”

Jackson expressed concern that the process was a “shot in the dark,” and suggested that the selection of such properties needs a more “uniform” way of determining nuisances. Thus the Board voted, with Jackson voting no in each instance.

When asked by Chancery Clerk Donna Hardy for clarification on the deadline, Teller said that though the property owners are given a year, “Really it’s a matter of coordination… we’ll work with him. If [they clean it] all’s well.”

The final property in question was 250 Rancho Rd owned by a Mr. Williams, in attendance who explained that the clutter in question has been habitually dumped illegally by other persons and not by himself: “They come and they dump it, I get it cleaned up, and they still dump it.” Williams has put up cameras in an attempt to catch the perpetrators.

Supervisor Jackson questioned the fairness of holding Williams accountable for what is essentially out of his control. She added that this was more evidence of a need for more uniform criteria for dealing with this issue.

“It’s clear that the main owner isn’t always the one dumping on their site,” said Jackson.