UPDATE, 4 p.m. Feb. 28 | John Baccala, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Missouri, Neighborhoods and Housing Services Department, said Friday that the trash was cleaned up at the location and no citation will be issued.
ORIGINAL, Feb. 27 | Kansas City, Missouri, officials have issued a cleanup order for a home on Cypress Avenue in the Historic Northeast neighborhood after piles of trash from an eviction were placed on the sidewalk and spilling out onto the street.
"It's just a giant trash problem, and we don't want to live across the street from it," neighbor Christy Hanseon said.
The mountain of trash, which started as the result of an eviction, is now considered an illegal dumping case, the city said.
"There's a proper way of disposing of everything, and this is not the proper way of disposing this," John Baccala, a spokesperson for the city's Neighborhoods and Housing Services Department, said. "We've been in touch with not only the owner of the property, but the person who manages the property and told them this is not acceptable."
According to Baccala, the Historic Northeast has more illegal dumping than other part of the city, though the reason why remains unclear.
"Is it because we have a lot of vaccant properties? Maybe," Baccala said. "Is it because of the condition of some of the properties? Maybe. Because we have a lot of rental properties here? Possibly. It's just something that we really want to look into to figure out the root cause is."
The city has hired an illegal dumping investigator to concentrate solely on the problem in the Historic Northeast.
The investigator is stationed at the Mattie Rhodes Center Northeast three days a week to help neighbors keep the neighborhood clean.
"The best way to get in control of something like that is to have somebody with boots on the ground," Baccala said.
The city is giving the homeowner and property manager on Cypress Avenue until Friday to clean up the trash.
If the garbage is not removed, Baccala said both will face a fine of up to $1,000 or possibly jail time for illegal dumping.
