Jefferson City condemns home after removing piles of trash
A Jefferson City resident was put out of his home after the city had to step in to remove hundreds of piled-up trash bags and waste.
Crews used a small backhoe last week to get into the home in the 800 block of East High Street.
The city condemned the home and boarded up all doors and windows due to heavy structural damage.
The home contained so much trash, the waste rotted through the floors, making it unsafe for anyone to enter the home, according to Home/Property Inspector Dave Helmick.
“It was actually pushing the doors and the windows off the frame of the house,” Helmick said. “And in the backyard, it was approximately 4 foot deep with trash.”
Next-door neighbors told ABC 17 News they noticed a stench and believed the trash attracted pests to their own homes.
“The rodents and roaches may be coming in from there,” neighbor Anisa Medina said. “And then like, it was so piled up in the back, the fence was actually kind of bent.”
The city received a citizen complaint and talked to the owner, ordering him to remove the trash, according to Helmick.
When the owner failed to do so, the city stepped in and hired an outside contractor to clean up what was not only a safety hazard to the resident, but neighbors as well.
“The bags would break open and now you have hazardous waste out there,” Helmick said. “And there’s kids in the neighborhood. There’s people around, and it’s really just not safe for anyone.
Trash violates city code when it is stacked up outside, attracts pests or blocks a path out of the home.
Helmick said it happens more often than some people might think.
“If somebody goes to a place like that and they have any concerns, best thing to do is to just let us know and then that way we can look into it and address it before it gets to the level of some of these structures,” Helmick said.
The homeowner will not face any criminal charges or fines, according to Helmick. However, the city placed a tax lien on the home for the fees to clean up the property.
The city also worked with the Cole County Health Department to assist the owner and to help him find a place to stay.
