Pittsburg looks to curb illegal dumping
City hopes that large fines, cleanup fees will deter violators
Every day in Pittsburg, someone dumps a mattress or two — and sometimes a couch, a desk or chairs.
That means time and money for the city's code enforcement and Public Works teams, which then have to dispatch staffers to remove the debris.
Fed up with the illegal dumping, the City Council agreed this week to add teeth to its current rules.
Under the new rules, fines for illegal dumping will increase to $1,000 per incident — the maximum allowed by the state — and police will be given the authority to hold the vehicle owner accountable as well as charge those responsible with the cost of the cleanup.
Illegal dumping has been an issue for Pittsburg and other communities for the past several years, Jordan Davis, Pittsburg's director of community and economic development, told the council.
“It has increasingly become an issue throughout the region, and the city spends $100,000 annually on the cleanup of illegally dumped debris,” he said. “Items dumped are often large, heavy, maybe hazardous or contain hazardous materials, requiring a lot of processing in order to pick those up and also to dispose of them.”
Although illegal dumping and littering are crimes under state law, prosecution has been “minimal at best,” Davis said.
“If they don't think anything's going to happen, there's no incentive to do it the right way,” he said.
City Manager Garrett Evans said as far back as 2017 the city picked up 632 mattresses and 361 couches or sofa chairs in a year.
“So this is an issue that we definitely want to come up with as many ways to address as possible,” he said.
Davis said in 2021 the city estimated there were more than 1,200 tons, or 306 cubic yards
of debris — a number that included homeless encampment cleanups — and 2022 was slightly less, he said. Even so, he noted that if the encampment cleanups were removed from the data, debris found in 2022 “grew significantly,” to about 288 cubic yards.
Disposal of garbage in places where it is not allowed is a threat to public health and welfare, not only creating blight but a burden on city resources, the staff has said. Illegal dumping has even caused accidents as drivers swerve to avoid it, police have said.
Davis noted the proposed ordinance would place the liability on the owner or operator of the vehicle that violated the dumping rules. The city has automated license plate readers that in some case could capture the license plate of a vehicle used to illegally dump debris and lead officials to the registered owner.
In lieu of issuing fines, the city could offer perpetrators community service if it is available, Davis said.
In cases of ongoing dumping, the cost of abatement of a property could be charged to the property owner, Davis said, adding that allowing illegal dumping on a property violates city code.
When asked by Councilmember Jelani Killings who would enforce the new rules, Davis said it would be a team effort and it would depend on the nature of the dumping and where it is located, with either public works or code enforcement answering the calls. Police then would be contacted to see if video existed that would show the vehicle license plate.
Before calling for a motion, Killings said he was “definitely supportive” of the ordinance.
“I think we all realize the issue around the region when it comes to illegal dumping, and I'm definitely wanting to give our staff more tools to be able to address it within our community,” he said.
Councilmember Angelica Lopez motioned for the approval, which passed on a 3-0 vote, with Mayor Juan Banales and Councilmember Shanelle Scales Preston absent.