Resident raises concerns about gravel piles on Edison; code enforcement says city lacks ordinance against gravel

At the start of the meeting a Bridgeport resident urged the council to address three lots near Edison and Thirteenth Street that neighbors say have been used as informal gravel dumps for years.

"There's multiple neighbors that all can't stand it because it's an eyesore. It's just dirt, gravel piles," said Janelle Allen Croxton, who gave her address as 1314 Edison. Croxton said she has seen trucks hauling and leveling gravel and noted new "for sale" signs on the lots across from her house and at the corner of Edison and Thirteenth.

Paul Walsh, the city's code enforcement officer, told council staff have repeatedly contacted the property owners, issued notices relating to trash and debris and had direct contact by certified letter and phone. Walsh said the owners told staff they plan to build duplexes on at least one lot and that they have in places cut brush and flattened areas. "They are doing everything on their own money when they get it," Walsh said.

Walsh and other staff told council there is a legal gap in city code: city ordinances prohibit weeds and some other nuisances, but staff could not find an ordinance that forbids placing or stockpiling gravel on private property. Walsh said the city could take enforcement action if the lot owner were selling gravel from the site, because that would create a commercial operation on a residentially zoned lot.

"If they sold the gravel off there, that'd be a problem. That'd be a commercial problem. But right now they're just leveling a lot out with gravel," Walsh said. He added that trucks may be allowed to travel off established truck routes if they are delivering or picking up, but they may not sit on site to operate. Walsh said staff will continue outreach: they have issued notices of violation, followed up by telephone and certified letter and plan another contact this week.

Croxton asked whether sale of the property would require the gravel to be removed; staff said there is no code requiring a seller to remove material from private property and that any cleanup would be the responsibility of the new owner unless the city took enforcement action under a specific code provision. Walsh also said staff would investigate whether any commercial activity is occurring on the lots and will continue to press for voluntary remediation.

No formal council action was taken during public comment; council members encouraged residents to notify code enforcement if they see trucks actively selling material from the lots.