As vice president of the Oread Neighborhood Association, there are many things that make Candice Davis proud to call this unique area home. But these days, Davis and other Oread residents are upset about one unwelcome thing that seems to be finding its way into their neighborhood at an alarming rate: trash.

“I walked up Mississippi from Ninth all the way past Memorial Stadium,” Davis said, “and there was trash almost all the way up the sidewalk. Blue and red cups, beer bottles, beer cans. It’s just all over.”

Davis and other association members recently voiced their concerns to city officials about the appearance of their neighborhood during a discussion with the Lawrence City Commission. The city commission has since researched the current trash ordinance and is considering modifications to the code that could include a shorter period to correct violations and a more proactive enforcement strategy.

For citizens such as Davis, who are concerned about the buildup of trash, any change to the existing ordinance that could help clean up their neighborhoods is welcome.

“It really lowers the expectations of the entire neighborhood when people see that there is already trash everywhere,” Davis said. “So then they aren’t as worried about their personal contributions and the trash just begins to accumulate.”

THE ORDINANCE

Currently, any Lawrence resident believed to be in violation of the trash ordinance is first sent a courtesy letter of notification. If the resident has not corrected a violation after 15 days, they are sent a notice outlining the violations and notifying them that they have an additional “15 days from the date of the mailing of the notice to alleviate the exterior yard conditions.” Any violations involving large structures are given a longer compliance period of 30 days.

During this time, the owner is allowed to appeal the violation to the Neighborhood Resources Advisory Committee. If a citizen fails to correct the violations within the 15 day deadline, the city will then correct the mistake and assess all charges to the person in violation.

The association, citing numerous complaints regarding excessive trash, recently asked the Lawrence City Commission to consider shortening the time period allowed for correction and implementing a more proactive enforcement.

City officials told them that the city would re-initiate review of the existing trash ordinance and asked its staff to research any alternatives to the current ordinance.

Brian Jimenez, code enforcement manager in Lawrence, prepared a report on the subject of trash ordinances for the City Commission. In this report, Jimenez reiterated many of the same concerns brought up by citizens. “Dilapidated structures and exterior yard violations have negative effects on neighboring property values and the integrity of the neighborhood,” the report stated.

Jimenez also recommended that the trash ordinance be reconsidered “to determine if the city would like to become more proactive through a shorter compliance deadline and more aggressive abatement enforcement.”

He suggested that the city commission eliminate the courtesy letter notification, which is not required but is a department policy. This could shorten the process by about 15 days.

Jimenez said that a change in the ordinance would likely require an increase in the $5,000 budget for deadline enforcement, but concluded that a change may need to be considered.

“A compliance time frame of five to 10 days would be much more effective in addressing all exterior yard violations including trash and refuse,” Jimenez said.

One city that has an effective trash ordinance is Overland Park, and Jimenez said he recommended adding language to the code similar to that of their ordinance.

Overland Park, which is about 40 miles east of Lawrence, has a far different ordinance regarding trash. Citizens of Overland Park are given only 24 to 48 hours to correct violations depending on whether they reside on the property or not. Violations regarding structures are given a longer five-day deadline.

Another difference between the ordinances involves the compliance time extensions and fines. Shannon McGuire, an enforcement specialist for the Overland Park Community and Development Services Department, said that their judge rarely gave extension to compliance times and that most citizens in Overland Park chose to correct their violations within the first 48 hours because the cost was clearly identified on the violation notice.

This is quite different than the common procedures in Lawrence, where extensions of over six months have been given in the past and more often than not part of the fine is suspended.

“In these situations, it is very frustrating to staff and even more frustrating for the citizens who are waiting to see the violation corrected,” Jimenez said, adding that a shorter deadline period would eliminate these situations in which cases slowly progress through court.

KEEPING LAWRENCE CLEAN

For citizens such as Davis, who are hoping to see a revised trash ordinance, exactly how the code changes is not all that important just as long as it positively contributes to the appearance and cleanliness of their neighborhoods.

In addition to pursuing a revised ordinance, concerned residents participate in “Oread Neighborhood Cleanup Days” and are planning to begin a campaign to post reminder signs asking citizens to take their own trash as they pass through.

But without a revised ordinance, many citizens feel the trash problems in their neighborhood would only continue to grow.

“I don’t know what it is about young people but they seem to throw their trash everywhere,” Davis said. “There are trash receptacles all over the community. I know they wouldn’t do this in their parent’s neighborhoods so I don’t know why they choose to do it here.”

But any possible changes to the ordinance will have to eventually come from the city commission, and Jimenez has said that since he prepared the report on the ordinance there had been only brief discussions.

“It is real early in the process right now,” he said, adding that further discussion would take place in time.

“Right now it is under review with our legal department to make sure that the options discussed regarding possible changes could reasonably be applied to our city,” Jimenez said.

David Corliss, Lawrence city manager, confirmed this in a memo that discussed the ordinance and said that there were plans to “continue a review of these neighborhood integrity issues and present possible amendments to City Code provisions as they are further considered and drafted.”

The trash ordinance will be discussed in the city commission meeting on April 29.

— Edited by Patrick De Oliveira