Trash bins vs. corrals an issue for townhouse owners
Trash bins were a discussion point during the Townhouse Association board meeting Nov. 16.
During the meeting, Ginna Townsley, a townhouse resident who came to the meeting with her husband, Bill Townsley, said she has concerns about the changes in trash service. She is in favor of curbside pickup over continued use of corrals.
“At our corral, it's a little inconvenient,” Ginna Townsley said. “There are some people who have three cans in there, there are many that have two.”
Not only can it get crowded and messy, she said, but moving the garbage around comes with its own set of hazards.
Townsley said she was moving her trash barrel recently when the bin caught the edge of a step. It tipped over and pulled her with it.
“I saw it coming. I tried to stop it,” she said. “My knees are still scabbed up.”
Curbside pickup, she said, is appealing to her, and she expects it could save her some future incidents like this, even if some residents are opposed to the change.
Whittlesey said “Any time there's a change, we're humans. Nobody likes change.”
While trash cans will be visible in some cases, he said, there shouldn't be an issue as long as they're next to the house.
The positive aspect, he said, is that there will probably be fewer messes near the trash bins.
With a corral, he said, a mess could be anybody's, so nobody was especially likely to clean it up. With a barrel in front of someone's home, he said, he expects people will take more responsibility.
Moreover, he said, people will be less likely to throw their garbage in someone else's bin if that bin is right next to its owner's home.
“The perfect solution to trash would be there isn't any,” he said.
But with that being far from viable, he said, this should at least be an improvement.
The board approved a request to enclose an attached carport on Kingsbury Drive.
The request was approved unanimously, after some discussion of the rules surrounding carport to garage conversions.
David Whittlesey, the association's manager, said the carport usually has to be attached.
“With one exception the entire time I've been here,” he said, “only attached carports can be enclosed.”
The reason, he said, is because enclosing a detached carport may ruin a neighbor's view.
This carport, he said, is attached, and even has walls in place. The homeowner isn't doing much more than putting a garage door on it at this point, Whittlesey said.