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West Chester adopts step-up enforcement and sticker program for trash ordinance violations
Summary
Borough staff and code enforcement outlined a new education-first enforcement plan under Chapter 62: orange warning stickers on containers, a first warning ticket, then a 15–45 day abatement timeline before court referral; staff estimate 40–50 apparent violations and plan coordinated SmartGov tracking.
Public works and code officials in West Chester described a new enforcement approach to long-running trash-and-recycling violations under Chapter 62, emphasizing education first and a clearer pathway to fines and court action if residents or landlords do not comply.
"Those stickers actually have the rules from Chapter 62 on them," Aaron Flutko said, describing the plan to place bright orange tags on offending containers so residents "can't say they didn't know" the requirements. Flutko said the borough has already begun targeted enforcement and that staff will record notices in SmartGov to build court-ready cases when necessary.
Don Anderson, interim director of Public Works, told the committee inspectors found roughly 40–50 properties with apparent violations and that he and code staff have prepared a warning letter the director can sign and deliver. "We went out and checked the whole borough, and it looks like we have roughly anywhere from 40 to 50 people that are in violation of Chapter 62," Anderson said.
Code enforcement outlined the compliance steps: an initial orange sticker explaining the violation, a first warning ticket for the homeowner, and a second notice with a 15-day abatement period followed by formal notice and, if unresolved, referral to court (a timeline that may extend up to 45 days depending on the case). Officials said the ordinance authorizes court action and potential fines but that the immediate goal is consistent education and documentation so that cases succeed if prosecuted.
Council members and residents urged balancing enforcement with outreach. "Education is gonna be so important on this," resident Lisa Kearns told the committee, adding that some elderly residents may not understand storage or lid requirements. Several council members said they support an initial education-first step and recommended mailing notices to haulers and large landlords to close enforcement loops.
Staff said they will also contact registered outside haulers to remind them of their obligation to register with the director of Public Works and to provide hauler-specific notice when staff identifies multiple violations tied to a single contractor.
Next steps: staff will deploy the sticker-and-ticket protocol, enter cases into SmartGov for tracking, and bring follow-up reporting to the committee as enforcement proceeds.
