Residents urge city action over persistent noise, dumping at 3240 Acum Avenue landscaping business

Several Pleasant Ridge residents used the public-comment period to press city leaders to enforce zoning and public‑health rules against a landscaping business they say has operated at 3240 Acum Avenue for more than two years.

Bill Frost, chair of the Pleasant Ridge zoning committee, said neighbors have repeatedly reported noise, pollution and other violations connected to the property and urged the city to take proactive action. "We need them out of here, and we need to make sure the landscaping business doesn't come back into this spot," Frost said, recounting a long history of complaints and alleged environmental harm.

Jim Adams and other residents said the problem persisted despite repeated promises that the business would relocate. Adams said there have been "at least 15,311 calls into that" and played a short audio clip of heavy machinery and backup alarms from his backyard to illustrate ongoing night and day disturbance.

Amanda Dean, also on the zoning committee, described continuous noise, equipment and illegal dumping on adjacent properties, and said residents had contacted the city multiple times without satisfactory enforcement. "This is occurring outside of legal operating hours," she told council members, and asked the city to accelerate enforcement and complete outstanding investigations.

Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Lemonkerny responded that the city would check on the matter and pointed to a vacant-building ordinance set to take effect in January that raises fees and increases inspection frequency. "We're gonna make it a lot more painful," she said of the new vacant-building rules, adding the city plans biannual interior inspections and more frequent exterior checks to discourage property hoarding and neglect.

Why it matters: Residents said the conditions at 3240 Acum Avenue degrade quality of life, pose safety and environmental concerns, and reflect broader worries about out-of-state investors holding vacant or underused properties in the business district. Zoning-committee members asked for active enforcement and follow-up rather than reactive responses to complaints.

Next steps: Council members and city staff said they would follow up with the community council and zoning committee; the vice mayor and city staff indicated the new vacant-building ordinance, additional inspections and potential enforcement actions are tools the city will use to address longstanding property and nuisance issues.