Town code enforcement staff described a stepped education-and-enforcement campaign for bulk and vegetative waste, parking on lawns and related nuisances that begins with community outreach in November and December and transitions to formal citations starting Jan. 1.

Code enforcement officer Eric Rich Wagon told the board the program will include an outreach and warning period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 during which residents will receive notices and education. Wagon said enforcement will be stricter beginning Jan. 1: first offense will be a warning; subsequent violations will carry escalating fines. At the meeting Wagon read fine guidance that the board circulated: second violation $125; third violation $250; fourth violation $400; and $500 for the fourth-plus violations. (The board provided a printed notice with the fine schedule that staff said would be available to the public.)

Wagon reviewed the town code language the enforcement team will use: Section 46-13(a) requires bulk and vegetative waste to be placed for collection at the paved edge of the right-of-way no earlier than 24 hours before scheduled collection and no later than 7 a.m. on collection day. South-side collection is Monday; north-side collection is Tuesday. Section 46-16(b) obligates landscapers to remove vegetative waste they generate; if landscapers do not remove it and the material remains on the property the owner remains responsible.

Board members discussed practical issues raised by landscaper schedules and by residents who leave piles out for multiple days. Members said staff will allow temporary placement farther back on private property (not in the roadway) while work is underway, provided the material will be moved to the curb for the scheduled pickup. Wagon said enforcement will focus on educating residents during November and December and then applying citations beginning Jan. 1, with the normal appeal process available for citations.

On other code matters the board discussed repeat parking-on-grass violations. The town’s notice language informs property owners that repeat violations may be presented to the code enforcement board even if corrected before the hearing; staff confirmed that photographic evidence and dates will be used to document repeat violations and that the initial enforcement action is a code-enforcement violation followed by citations if the case escalates.

Wagon also described plans to modernize case management: a new software system and laptops for field staff, with a potential go-live date later in the month if testing is complete. He said the system will allow residents to view which violations are open through an online portal and will streamline in-field enforcement.