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City Council Discusses Tougher Trash RulesBy Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, July 13, 2011 The citizens of Williamsburg might be engaging in some trash talk this fall. They’ll consider questions like whether trash should always be concealed from sight, or whether containers should sit on the curb between specific hours. The solution isn’t yet clear, but City Council is considering regulating when and where trash can be seen. Council asked the Planning Department to investigate options for regulating refuse. At a Monday work session, Deputy Planning Director Carolyn Murphy presented the possible regulations, based on research of other localities’ ordinances. First, the city could prohibit containers in front or side yards if they’re visible from a public street, except on pick-up day. Alternatively, the city could prohibit containers from front yards only, or from side yards if adjacent to public streets. The city could also consider setting pick-up day time frames for when containers can be at the curb, such as 4 a.m. to midnight on the day of pickup, or 5 p.m. the day before pickup and in by midnight on the day of pickup. In another scenario, the city could require residents to screen containers located in side or rear yards that are visible from public streets. This would require residents to use either fencing or landscaping to conceal visible trash containers. Finally, the city could require screening of containers stored anywhere on a property. If Council decided to enact any regulations requiring residents to screen containers, it would have to add the regulations to the Zoning Ordinance. Existing conditions would continue as nonconforming uses. Regulations other than physical screening could be added to the City Code, under “Nuisance” or “Solid Waste.” Murphy said enforcement of any new regulations would be tough. “It’s another thing added to their list of things to do in a department that’s very small,” she said of Public Works. For that reason, she suggested the city could enforce new regulations after receiving complaints or when inspectors make neighborhood inspections for property maintenance. The city would need to determine whether a violation would be a civil penalty or a misdemeanor violation. She said the city could opt to add new regulations citywide or in specific designated zones, like the housing conservation districts surrounding Colonial Williamsburg and the College of William and Mary. The neighborhoods closest to campus generate the most complaints, partially because more of the homes are rentals and have smaller lots, she said. No ordinance currently exists to prohibit storage of trash containers in front or side yards, but Mayor Clyde Haulman said he often receives complaints. “We continually get calls about trash in side yards,” he said. “There are people who feel this is an issue that needs to be looked at.” Other council members bemoaned having to regulate what they felt was a courtesy. “It would seem unfortunate we have to enact an ordinance to require people to behave in what would seem to be an orderly, neighborly fashion,” said Paul Freiling. He did note, however, that many neighborhoods in Williamsburg have homeowners’ associations that regulate trash containers more stringently. Council will have to decide if an ordinance is warranted. Before that happens, however, Haulman suggested Murphy speak before the Neighborhood Council to get feedback from homeowners. If residents seem receptive to changes, Council can direct staff to draft an ordinance for consideration. |
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Comments
Just a small regulation so that individual complaints can be responded to seems enough to me.
However, I would take complaints about the lack of proper recycling options very serious!
B) BUT...notice, from late August to May, how every space is taken, every year ALL DAY!! Now, notice what happens this summer and one month around Christmas!
C) For years, that area of "downtown" has been allowed to become a city-owned parking lot, with virtually no ENFORCEMENT by our City officials. My research has been extensive in the name of fairness to ALL! 'Misfeasance' is the governmental term that describes one group of locals being given an unfair advantage over another.
D) Conclusion? The local misjustice against the huge majority of us, locals and visitors, has been allowed to simmer for years!
Who needs em? I don't.
I am just one person and I always have an overflow. Besides what to do with all that stuff between pickups? With the criticism, I am ready to just throw it all in the trashcan and give up recycling. Give us a break.
All trash bins should be required to be stored in a brick colonial style outbuilding of no less than 10 sq ft. in floor space and 6 ft in height.
Trash bins should only be allowed on the street for no longer than 5 min. before and after the pickup. Violators must be prosecuted with the full force of law!
In the words of Patrick Henry "Give me orderly trash cans, or give me death!"
Seriously though, this is a ridiculous thing to regulated. Regulation of trash bins is not a proper use of government authority.