By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The police blotters in Bowling Green cover criminal activities from bar brawls and shopliftings. But for the past 18 months, the blotters have been peppered with nuisances like litter, tall grass, barking dogs and recreational vehicles that have overstayed their welcome.
That change came when Bowling Green City Council adopted an ordinance to provide faster responses to neighborhood nuisances.
The ordinance was intended to speed up the enforcement of various nuisance issues, such as grass mowing, sidewalk snow clearing, garbage removal, and cars parked on lawns by handing the complaints over to the police division.
The issue of nuisance neighbors tends to be more prominent on the East Side of the city, where many of the homes are rentals and most of the residents are transient.
As one of the people who frequently reports nuisance in his neighborhood, David Pfleger said the shift to police handling complaints is working.
“He is extremely responsive and gets things done,” Pfleger said of Kirk Cowan, the civil enforcement tech at the police division. “It gets taken care of in a positive manner.”
Pfleger has not been shy about reporting violations to the civil enforcement section of the police division. He calls or emails when he notices vehicles parking on grass, garbage strewn on property, or indoor furniture left in yards or on porches.
Assistant Municipal Administrator Joe Fawcett said shifting the nuisance complaints over to the police just made sense for Bowling Green. The police division is best equipped to handle complaints and dispatch responses.
“All of that is built in with what the police already do,” Fawcett said. “They can respond in a fairly quick manner.”
The change to police handling civil complaints has had the desired effect, according to Police Lt. Dan Mancuso.
“It brings it under one roof so things could be handled in a timely manner,” he said.
In the past year, the police division has received 234 complaints from residents – with the most common issues being trash in yards, indoor furniture sitting outside, and high grass, according to Mancuso.
Though Pfleger is pleased with the police response, he would like to see more from the city.
“I want them to be proactive, rather than taking a reactive stance,” he said.
For example, rather than waiting for residents to call in complaints about garbage cans being left in the front yard, Pleger would like to see the city initiate responses on its own.
“Citizens shouldn’t have to take up the mantle to make things happen,” he said. “If they just do a simple ride-around,” the violations are easily spotted.
Pfleger also said some confusion remains about which city department to call about specific complaints. “It can be very convoluted,” he said.
Rose Hess, of the East Side Neighborhood organization, agreed that the average citizen still has no idea who to call to report civil violations. She would like to see the city set up a 311 number to take nuisance complaints – so people know where to call. The complaints could be routed to particular offices from there, she said.
Hess also said the city’s needs more code enforcement personnel. There were previously two code enforcement officers, so one was available for evening complaints, she said. Now there is just Cowan to respond to all the complaints.
The complaints cover rental and non-rental properties, though most of the trash complaints are on rental properties.
Some of the difficult issues to resolve involve bank-owned properties.
“It’s usually a challenge to find what bank and who is responsible for the property,” Mancuso said.
Depending on the type of complaint, residents are given a certain amount of time to resolve the issue before a fine and citation are issued.
“Each complaint is handled as a new one, so as long as any old complaint is taken care of, it’s not held against them,” Mancuso said.
Issues that fall under civil enforcement include:
- Small trash (papers, cans, bottles, etc.) left on neighbor’s property
- Furniture left on neighbor’s property or public property including the sidewalk or median
- Neighbor’s property has tall brush, grass or noxious weeds (over 8 inches)
- Neighbor’s buildings appear to have more residents than allowed occupancy for apartments
- Vehicles are being parked on neighbor’s front yard, or anywhere on the grass on the private property
- Vehicles are being parked on public property including parkways, median, or left on the street for an extended period of time
- There are inoperable vehicles on neighbor’s property
- Open burn on private or public property
- Pods/RVs, boats, or trailers on private property
- Lack of snow removal on private property
- Neighbor’s buildings appear to be unsafe due to damage or deterioration
To report violations, contact the Bowling Green Police Division at 419-352-1131. E-mailed complaints will be received via Civilenforcement@bgohio.org.
