Code Violation Sweep Planned for Lansdowne

The Lansdowne Improvement Association has a message for hoarders, harborers of rats and the landscaping-impaired members of the community: You had your chance.

LIA is organizing a code enforcement sweep of the community for June 20, when county Code Enforcement Inspector Phillip Mills will patrol neighborhoods looking for uncovered trash cans, high grass and weeds, and junk-littered yards.

"We do not want to see neighbors cited, but we are focused on cleaning up our community for everyone's benefit," the group announced to Lansdowne residents on its Facebook page.

On June 2, LIA arranged to have two dumpsters available during a community clean-up of Hillcrest Park for residents to dispose of household and yard debris.

LIA Vice President Chris Koloski said that only three residents took avantage of the dumpsters, and one person had electronics that could not be accepted.

"We warned people," Koloski said. "We sent out notices, we talked about it at meetings, we let people know every way we could."

The sweep is essential to address nuisances that affect the whole community. Koloski said that LIA has received many complaints about rats in the area, especially around Hammonds Ferry Road.

Open trash receptacles are an invitation to rats by providing a source of food and water, she said. 

Yards strewn with trash or tall with grass and weeds are not only unsightly, but provide cover for rats and impact the quality of life for the entire community, Koloski said.

Neighbors who don't comply with zoning codes before the June 20 sweep may face an expensive warning.