SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Trash is such an issue in South Fulton’s shopping plazas that city officials had to act.
The city took serious action to combat the trash problem, passing an ordinance that will let code enforcement agents fine property owners every day if they don’t clean up.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes went to one shopping plaza where trash bins kept overflowing and the property owner had to pay a fine.
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Owners of Red Oak Plaza were fined $1,000 due to the trash build-up.
To avoid future fines, Red Oak Plaza removed all of its trash bins.
Red Oak’s strategy inspired the South Fulton City Council to come up with its new ordinance. Now, plazas all over South Fulton can be fined daily.
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City Councilwoman Helen Willis told Channel 2 Action News that elected officials had to do something because enforcement before hadn’t helped.
“We’ve had them in code enforcement court, some of them have failed to appear,” Willis told Fernandes. “It’s the ultimate disrespect of our community.”
To fight back against the trash overflow, and strategies to avoid fines, the city council passed an ordinance that requires plaza owners to have a 30-gallon trash bin for every two storefronts.
If the bins aren’t emptied, and the property isn’t kept clean, they’ll be fined $1,000 every day until it’s cleaned up and bins are in place.
Local business owner Mountasia Foster, who works in the Red Oak Plaza, told Channel 2 Action News that she’s glad the city is doing something about the trash build-up.
She said letting the trash stay out “makes the business look bad.”
“We used to have trash cans but now we have none,” Foster said. “So they have no choice but to come inside a business that the trash didn’t belong to, or just drop it outside and that’s not a good thing.”
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Fernandes called the owner of the property twice to ask about removing trash cans and left messages, but still hasn’t heard back.
The ordinance was voted on by City Council on Tuesday, set to take effect on Wednesday.
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