7/19/2006 5:29:00 PM Clean-up of debris-ridden
properties continues in Canton
BY ANDREW BRYAN FLACH Staff Reporter
Canton is continuing its clean-up of abandoned and debris-ridden properties throughout the city. Public Works Director Mike Parker said they have been doing this for years and describes it as a very necessary process, especially from a public safety perspective.
“It’s got to continue. You just about have to, because some people are just not going to clean it up,” said Parker. “If they can’t see it from their house, it doesn’t bother them.”
Parker said clean up also helps reduce criminal activity by removing its breeding grounds.
“We’re getting rid of places for drug-dealing to go on. It eliminates a lot of crime because it takes away their gathering places,” said Parker.
Zoning Administrator Donald Lawrence said clean up helps with the beautification of Canton, and he said the city’s response to this issue has been much swifter as of late, something Lawrence attributes to teamwork.
“It’s a whole lot faster,” said Lawrence. “We’ve got new equipment and people eager to do the work. We get positive responses from [the citizens]. When they call us, they know we’re coming.”
Parker said that in any given year, his department cleans up about 50 to 60 properties. In many instances, the properties are owned by people from out of state, who essentially leave these properties in disuse and disrepair. Lawrence stresses a zero-tolerance to any properties out of compliance with the city ordinance.
Lawrence said he is either notified of a problem through an official process or, in his driving through the city, happens upon an unacceptable property himself.
At this point, he dispatches a notice to the property owner. This owner has 21 days to respond to the Department of Building and Development, and to clean up the land.
If the owner does not respond, Lawrence then goes before the Board of Aldermen. A notice is run in the newspaper notifying the property owner that his or her land has become a nuisance, and a hearing date is set. The property owner has the right to present his or her case before the board at the appointed time, and, perhaps, be afforded a clean up period extension.
If the property owner does not appear, the board then authorizes Parker and the public works department to take action.
Parker said he and his men usually utilize a variety of standard equipment, such as a bulldozer and a backhoe. Sometimes they have to tear down whole abandoned structures. Sometimes they simply clear debris. If the yard needs cutting, Parker said a tractor and bush hog are used. And of course, some manpower (usually three to four men) is brought along to handle any needed manual work.
Lawrence said these clean up projects are sometimes accompanied by police presence, when conflict is deemed a possibility.
After the work is complete, the cost of labor is assessed, and Lawrence presents this before the board, which authorizes Lawrence to bill the property owner. If the owner does not pay the bill within 30 days of receiving it, the cost is added to his or her taxes the following year.
Parker said his department has about 50 more properties to address at the moment.
Lawrence assures the people of Canton that these clean up efforts will continue and issues a warning to all those with unkempt lots.
“If you don’t clean up your property, we will be there.”
