During the last Code Enforcement meeting, Assistant Chief of Police Ricky Jefferson introduced several potential ordinances to the committee that will be voted on during the Tuesday, March 20 City Council meeting. The ordinances are designed to deal with some of the environmental problems that the city is facing as well as help the city look better.
The first ordinance is a grass clipping ordinance that will make it punishable to blow grass clippings into the street while mowing. Jefferson stated that when many people mow in town they blow the grass clippings directly into the street and this not only causes the streets to look poor but also can cause clogging issues in the gutters and drains around the city.
“We have enough problems with flooding as it is now, so if everybody complies with this ordinance it will help the city in cleaning those drain pits out,” Jefferson said.
Another ordinance deals with the mowing fees whenever the city is forced to mow the grass of a property that is dilapidated or abandoned. Jefferson stated that many of the houses that are in this condition are owned by individuals who do not live in Blytheville or even in Arkansas. The ordinance will require those who this condition fits to appoint a local individual to mow the property.
A dumpster ordinance has also been proposed that will require commercial businesses to put fencing around their large metal dumpsters so that the contents of the dumpsters cannot be easily viewed by those passing by. Jefferson stated that the dumpsters without these fences are undesirable to look at and covering them will only help to improve the way that the city looks.
“Places like McDonald’s already have them but those commercial properties where they are throwing out mattresses and whole houses full of furniture are what we are kind of looking at because those owners of those properties are actually supposed to get rid of that themselves… like I said all these things are trying to make things look better,” Jefferson said.
The final ordinance deals with setting up a Nuisance Board. The board would be made up of Blytheville citizens and would have the power to suggest condemnation of properties as well as seizing after a property was identified by Code Enforcement to be a nuisance. The board will not have any members of the city council. “It can be drug houses, it can be places where they are playing loud music. If we take it to the board it will actually give you a little bit more teeth to close the place down and board it up and it will temporary belong to the city…the board will have such power to close those places,” Jefferson said.
As of print time the council had not yet met to vote on the ordinances; however, Jefferson felt strongly that the ordinances would be at the least seriously considered.
gwilliams@blythvillecourier.com