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Resident urges city to trim landscaping and address recycling thefts after rat infestations
Summary
A long-time Loma Linda resident told the council overgrown shrubbery along Bryn Mawr is pushing rats into backyards and urged the city and contracted landscapers to trim shrubs; she also said an elderly woman repeatedly takes items from blue recycling cans and asked the city and sheriff to investigate or provide social services.
Marjorie Barakian, a District 1 resident and one of the original property owners in the Montrose tract, told the council she and neighbors have seen rat activity increase where landscaping shrubs on the West Side of Bryn Mawr grow over block walls and into backyards. "All we're asking is that on the West Side of Bryn Mawr that they not have the shrubs... grow over the top of the walls down into people's backyards," Barakian said, adding that elderly neighbors cannot reach or trim the plants themselves.
Barakian said some homes in the tract have been refurbished to reduce rodent access; she said she paid $50,000 to have her own landscaping redone to remove nooks and crannies where rats can enter. She asked the city to ensure contracted landscaping crews maintain the hedges so they do not encroach into private yards and to consider special help for residents who cannot trim tall shrubs.
On a related point, Barakian said an elderly woman visits her block each Thursday to take materials from blue recycling bins and that neighbors worry items taken from bins could be used for identity theft. She said she has spoken to the hauler (CR&R) and asked whether recyclables can be collected earlier to reduce opportunistic access; the council said staff would check local ordinances and waste-hauler procedures.
Council members and staff discussed whether items set out for collection are considered abandoned, and whether local ordinances allow the city or sheriff to take enforcement action; staff said they would investigate and report back. The council did not take formal action during the meeting but directed staff to follow up with the resident and examine existing city ordinances and CR&R practices.
