On a regular basis in many parts of Woodstock you can see piles of household furnishings at the curb, after a tenant has been evicted by a landlord. Many, but not all, of these occur shortly after the first of the month. Others, like this one at 316 Lake Avenue, occur later in the month.
Granted, the landlord wants his property back as quickly as possible, so that he can restore it to rentable condition and re-rent it to cut his losses.
The City already prohibits discarding household possessions in the "parkway", which is right-of-way and controlled by the City Code. That's the land between the sidewalk and the curb. It's not your property, but you probably don't want to know what happens if you don't mow that grass.
This house was already a "problem" house for the City, because a tenant parked a vehicle in the front yard and destroyed the grass between the sidewalk and the driveway.
Some renters take great pride in their residences. Others don't.
How should the City address violations of this type? Ideally, the City would inform landlords up-front about the ordinances that affect their property, including the "nuisance" ordinances. These aren't intended to be nuisances themselves; instead, they are to prevent nuisances.
Enforcement should be shift and sure. Junk like the above doesn't belong in the parkway - period. If the landlord is going to dispose of a tenant's property, then he should either store it for 30 days off-site or out-of-sight, giving notice to the former tenant, or just call Marengo Disposal to come and get it. If they won't pick it up from the back or side of the house, then put it out after 7:00PM for next-day pick-up.
7 comments:
Hey! The garden center at Jewel is back. Would you like to complain about that again?
Check the ‘CIVIL’ law Gus. The law on evictions specifies that the evicted property be placed on the PUBLIC WAY. Or as you call it, the "parkway".
Since you'll ask...the Il S. Ct has further ruled that the plaintiff or the Sheriff bears no liability for safeguarding the defendant’s property. Locally the Sheriff will confiscate guns or med's which could be harmful to children, but they are NOT REQUIRED by law to do so.
In COOK COUNTY they just dump it on the curb or into a dumpster. Sometimes they toss it from an open window.
Some towns come by the next day with a city end loader, fill a dump truck and haul it away as garbage.
Nota is right. I've been on evictions where they put large new TV's on the curb. These people squat in the place not paying rent and know how long before they get evicted. They get legal notice and stay for 60 -90 days before the Sheriff finally kicks them out.
Yes we only confiscated medicines and weapons. Everything else was put on the curb. BTW deputies did not touch a thing. The landlord does all the moving. Usually hires some moving outfit.
They know Gus. Not and Frank have sat on several evictions. They have read the eviction orders and filled out the accompanying paper work. Don't question a deputy's knowledge in this area.
Retired, thanks for your comment. I know they know the law.
What I was griping about was the eyesore at the curb. The landlord is certainly entitled to have his property back and to get rid of any abandoned property.
But why should the rest of us have to look at it until the Code Enforcement Officer can twist a landlord's arm far enough to get the junk moved out of the parkway?
A pro-active, polite, professional approach by the City to the city's landlords could result in a better arrangement.
In the case of 316 Lake Avenue, the landlord did arrange for prompt pick-up by a trash hauler.
"In the case of 316 Lake Avenue, the landlord did arrange for prompt pick-up by a trash hauler."
So again...there was NO POINT to your story! You must wait for all the facts before writing!
Frank, good buddy. If every reporter waited for "all" the facts, you'd buy a blank newspaper every morning.
The point of the story is not that the junk got picked up promptly, it was that it showed up on the curb! The parkway is right-of-way, as in "public property". An evicted tenant's household furnishings don't belong on public property.
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