Council ponders ban on illegal dumping

Rules needed to close ‘loophole’

Lorain could get new rules against illegal dumping in the city.

Lorain City Council on June 18 considered legislation that would prohibit stockpiling of materials that could create a public nuisance.

Council sent the legislation to second reading at the request of Safety-Service Director Dan Given.

Given requested time to compile information and answer questions from Council about the new regulations.

He said he, with the departments of Law and Engineering, have worked on the legislation for months, “trying to hit the big problem dumpers in the community.”

“Those are the ones that I would say are using a lot of grass and branches and natural debris,” Given said. “We’re hoping to deal with people that are dumping along the side of West 21st Street where we have massive concrete pile-ups going there.”

In discussion, Ward 2 Councilman Dennis Flores asked how the city will enforce more rules on the books.

For years, Flores has photographed dilapidated houses and poor conditions around the

neighborhoods in his ward and sent the information for city inspectors to review.

“I know we’ve been out on various locations throughout the city, but there’s a lot of dumping that is going on,” he said. “So, how will this new ordinance

be enforced? We’re having trouble keeping up with the dumping.”

“I agree, we do have issues with dumping in the city,” Given said. “One way to try and address that is with proper legislation in place.”

After the meeting, Given explained there are parcels in the city where owners have allowed the dumping or storing of materials

such as broken asphalt and concrete and tree branches.

If the city became responsible for cleaning those sites, it would be an expensive project, he said.

Lorain already has rules for property code enforcement and prohibiting owners from letting lands and houses deteriorate to create hazardous conditions.

However, the asphalt, concrete and plant materials are not trash, so there becomes a “gray area” in city law for enforcement, Given said.

“I want to know how to turn gray into black and white,” he said. “We feel what may be a loophole, needs to be tightened.”

The legislation outlines what constitutes clean fill for commercial, industrial, residential and erosion control use.

There also is a list of materials that create public nuisances:

• Deteriorated, wrecked, dismantled and abandoned cars, trucks, boats, machinery and appliances.

• Breeding places for rodents

or pests, including piles of manure, garbage and tires.

• Combustible materials, including papers, rags, grass, dead trees and wood shavings.

• Garbage and refuse including household waste.

• Filling gravel pits or any ecologically sensitive areas with something other than clean fill.

If dumpers refuse city orders to remove the materials, city penalties would depend on the mess.

The draft legislation includes

proposed penalties for the offenses.

Part of the additional research deals with penalties, based on previous city legislation, Given said.

Clerk of Council Nancy Greer said she also wants to eliminate duplications in the new legislation and in existing city laws.

Duplicated materials make it difficult to do computerized searches for the appropriate legal language when it is needed.

“I have no problem with the contents,” Greer said.