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Dearborn Heights resident urges ordinance after 8-foot trash pile appears after eviction; council promises follow-up
Summary
A resident told the Dearborn Heights City Council that an 8-foot-high pile of discarded personal property left after an eviction has sat on the sidewalk and attracted children; council members said they will pursue an ordinance requiring a dumpster at evictions and will refer language to the ordinance director before the next meeting.
A resident of the city’s South End told the Dearborn Heights City Council on Sept. 30 that a pile of discarded household items left after an eviction had grown "8 feet high" and spilled onto the sidewalk, creating a hazard and devaluing homes in the neighborhood.
"Little children are playing in that pile," Michael Muni said, identifying himself as a Hopkins Street resident. He said he had filed an online complaint and posted photos and that the pile had remained for days even though a 20-yard dumpster was at the property.
Council members said the city enforces court-ordered evictions but lacks a specific local ordinance requiring a dumpster be delivered and used during eviction removals. "What needs to happen is an ordinance that comes out and says, if there is going to be an eviction, the city of Dearborn Heights requires a dumpster to be present on the day of eviction," the council chair said during the meeting.
Councilors pointed to a Detroit ordinance that requires a dumpster at the site of a tenant's belongings before a bailiff conducts an eviction. "We can introduce something similar," a council member said.
Council staff asked Muni to share photos and the address so administration and the Department of Public Works can investigate; one councilor pledged to meet with the ordinance director and eviction officers and "put something together by next council meeting." Council members discussed possible fines for landlords or banks if they cause unsanitary conditions and emphasized the need to clarify whether court orders are instructing property to be put curbside.
The council did not adopt formal ordinance language at the special meeting; instead members committed to drafting language and following up. The meeting record shows the mayor’s office, the city’s ordinance director and eviction officers will be engaged in drafting and implementation steps ahead of the next meeting.
The council also noted the city's trash contractor, Priority Waste, as the usual vendor for dumpster service and said staff would contact the contractor and the court to determine whether an order required the removal method used at the location described by Muni.
Next steps: councilors said they will review any existing draft language and return with an ordinance proposal at a future meeting; no formal vote on an ordinance took place at this session.
