The Kansas City Council this week will debate legislation aimed at stopping a persistent annoyance: illegal trash dumping.
People frequently leave garbage and large items like mattresses in the city’s vacant lots, which are more common in lower-income areas.
“You know, these are neighborhoods with kids and families and folks that work hard, and a lot of pride, and they’ve been dealing with this for years," says Council member Crispin Rea, who represents the 4th District At-Large.
Rea told KCUR's Up To Date that Public Works staff recently cleaned up eight tons of trash over just a few blocks.
“A lot of these cases are someone who owns, say, a mechanic’s shop that has a dozen tires that they want to get rid of, and they go find a neighborhood that they think no one cares about and dump their tires there,” Rea said. “And these often are neighborhoods of Black and brown and low-income folks, and so they go in and they say, ‘Well, no one cares about this neighborhood, I’ll just dump it here,’ which couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Rea’s plan for stopping illegal dumping includes more cameras in high-risk zones, and hiring five additional case investigators. Kansas City is spending money to buy an additional garbage truck, and increase the amount of bulky item pickup days.
Rea also wants a public information campaign about the city’s efforts and increased penalties for violating city law. The current penalty for illegal dumping is anywhere between $1 and $1,000 in fines, and/or six months in city jail.
Rea's proposed ordinance would raise the floor of the fine to $500, and/or six months in jail for first-time violators. The changes specifically target illegal dumping in unimproved or vacant lots or the city’s Land Bank properties.
Repeat offenders could face fines of $750 and an additional 48 hours in jail.
The ordinance will be discussed in a council committee Tuesday, May 21, and Rea expects it to move to a full council vote on Thursday, May 23.
- Crispin Rea, City Councilman for Kansas City’s 4th District At-Large
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KCUR's Celisa Calacal contributed to this story.
