Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506200025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
This time, James and Mary Mumford had tractor parts strewn about and a portable toilet in their back yard on Kirkland Avenue Northwest.
A recreational vehicle was parked partly in front of their house, rather than behind it as the law requires.
The last time, it was an improperly stored grill. Before that, it was junked cars, lawn mowers, uncovered tires and building materials.
Thursday was the Mumfords' sixth appearance in Roanoke General District Court since 1987 for zoning violations, a civil infraction.
Judge James Brice ordered them to back up the RV. And he gave them until July 20 to clean up the back yard.
The Mumfords have to come back to court that day. If the yard is clean by then, there's no sanction.
``We don't want to punish people. We want to have them in compliance,'' the judge said.
Emerging from the courtroom afterward, Evelyn Dorsey, the city's zoning enforcement officer, was a bit frustrated.
``Do you see how it works?'' she asked. ``There is no fine, no deterrence. And we have to go back and face the music with the neighborhood leaders and the people who complained.''
The Mumfords aren't the only zoning code violators in Roanoke. The city took 109 cases to court last year.
Dorsey and the inspectors have a cabinet crammed with files of repeat offenders - homeowners who have been to court five or six times or more but whose yards still are full of rubbish.
Usually, they clean up their yards just long enough to escape serious penalties in court. The junk usually shows up again soon after the case is dismissed, Dorsey said.
``Repeat offenders know the system. They know how to play the game,'' she said.
The eyesores generate hundreds of complaints to city hall annually. Next month, City Council will be asked to beef up zoning inspectors' powers against serial yard slobs.
On July 10, the council will hold a public hearing on an ordinance that would give inspectors the authority to have junk cars towed off properties if their owners refuse to move them or get them registered and inspected.
And by next year, Dorsey hopes to have a new weapon at her disposal: fines of up to $1,000 for people who repeatedly fill their yards with junk, trash and other debris.
``This is probably the single most common complaint we receive from members of our community,'' City Manager Bob Herbert told the council during a June 12 briefing. ``Their comment is, `Can't you do it any faster?' ... This is a significant change in the way of doing business.''
Community leaders from around Roanoke who appeared at the briefing agreed.
``Unless you ... do something to help us, we might as well forget this idea that Roanoke is a beautiful place to live,'' Roy Stroop, president of the Wildwood Civic League, told the council.
``Giving inspectors ticketing authority is the thing to do,'' said Petie Cavendish, representing Old Southwest Inc. ``Just having them ask the violators, `Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry, but could you move this thing?' isn't going to do anything. We need some teeth in this ordinance.''
The ordinance council will consider next month deals only with junk cars, which it defines as vehicles that are inoperable. It requires that they be garaged or otherwise shielded from view within 15 days of notice from the city.
If the owners don't move the vehicles, the city could have the cars towed away.
Council can't enact a law establishing administrative fines for zoning violators because it doesn't have the authority from the state.
Dorsey said the city will seek the necessary legislation next year. In the past, the General Assembly has granted it to other jurisdictions.
Councilman Jack Parrott said he agrees with the intent of the fines but doesn't see how they'd solve the problem.
``I believe I would choke a little if we gave people in the planning department authority to issue tickets like the Police Department does,'' Parrott said.
He believes it would result in more delays, as the people who received the tickets appealed them in court.
But Dorsey said swift and certain fines would be a ``serious discouragement,'' and zoning inspector James Keith said a car towing ordinance would have the same effect.
``Take a few vehicles, and the word will get around. You won't see many in yards anymore,'' he said.
The Mumfords disagree.
James Mumford says the city has dogged him for years about his yard. Inspectors don't talk to him like a human being; they just summon him to court, he said.
As far the yard being full of junk, ``I don't see it,'' he added.
``If I pull a bed or mattress out of my house to air it out, then this guy shows up,'' he said, pointing his finger at Keith. ``I feel like I'm being hassled.''
Mary Mumford said some of the summonses are ridiculous, such as the time she was hauled into court because her grill was in the middle of the back yard rather than pushed against the house.
``It just seems like each time we try to do something to clean up things, we end up here,'' James Mumford said. ``Just as soon as I start [a cleanup] project, I end up getting a citation.''
He also takes issue with the term ``junk.'' He said it's too vague and open to interpretation.
Keith said it's city policy to deal with repeat violators by mail and in court. Dorsey said the law doesn't outlaw backyard ``junk'' per se, but forbids outside storage of all ``miscellaneous items,'' including junk.
``When you use the term `outdoor storage,' some people don't have a clue what you're talking about,'' she said. ``When you use the word `junk,' they understand it and become defensive.''
by CNB