Date: Fri 16-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

council-anti-litter-ordinance

Full Text:

Council Member To Draft Anti-Litter Ordinance

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Legislative Council member Will Rodgers has taken on the responsibility of

writing a draft anti-litter ordinance for the town.

The Legislative Council's ordinance committee was requested to create an

ordinance by residents who were looking to halt illegal dumping in town. Some

residents wanted stiffer fines than the state's current $110 fine. And, as Mr

Rodgers noted, the state laws are vague, prohibiting dumping only on state

property and on property that is not "your" own.

"There's a big gap there. We need an ordinance to fill the holes," he said.

Mr Rodgers has perused anti-litter ordinances from other Connecticut towns,

including Avon, Branford, East Haven, Manchester, Orange, Stratford and West

Haven.

So far, he's found that there are two kinds of ordinances. One, found in Avon

and Stratford, is very basic, simply stating that it shall be unlawful to

litter and that violators will be fined a certain amount for littering. Avon's

fine for illegal dumping remains at $10, the figure it set back in 1963.

The other anti-litter ordinances are more elaborate, defining what litter is

and identifying different types of littering. One town even has a provision

making it illegal to drop leaflets from an aircraft.

Mr Rodgers said he is interested in an ordinance from Orange that requires

store owners to supply outside trash receptacles per number of parking spaces.

He believes that may be a good thing for Newtown, with the Big Y supermarket

coming in and the often unpleasant task of having to walk "a half mile" to

find a trash can at the Sand Hill Plaza.

One town imposed an obligation on merchants and residents to guarantee they

kept their property litter free. It they do not, according to the ordinance,

the town has the right to go in and clean up the property, then charge the

property owner for the work.

Council chairman Pierre Rochman was concerned that if the town put that in the

ordinance, it could be obligated to do clean-up work.

Mr Rodgers noted that some towns even had a "pooper scooper" law, which he did

not feel was necessary in Newtown.

If fines are set, the members of the ordinance committee said they will have

to determine how to collect those that go unpaid. The state recently passed a

law giving towns the right to put liens on non-payers' houses in certain

situations.

Bill Brimmer, the committee chairman, said his committee will need to

determine the different levels of littering and whether fines will be adjusted

to fit the magnitude of the offense. None of the other towns' ordinances dealt

with this issue.