 "Photo: Onnie Koski/Photography Editor")
If city residents didn't have a reason to start spring cleaning, now is as good a time as ever.
The city will begin block-to-block housing inspections on Monday.
Off-campus student housing will be targeted in the two-week long Community Clean Sweep, during which court summonses will be issued for garbage and parking violations.
"We are aggressively trying to deal with every single dumpster," said Bill Bray, city public information officer.
Tenants face summonses for failing to keep any dumpsters painted, concealed and rust- and graffiti-free, said Mike Mahoney, city chief housing inspector.
Other sanitation infractions can result in violation notices, Mahoney said.
Tenants in the 5th and 6th wards will receive written notices for graffiti, lawn overgrowth and litter violations.
The city also has rules on porches - no tenant may have propane tanks and indoor furniture on their porch.
"Everyone's actually responsible for maintaining the outside of their house up to 24 inches off the curb," Mahoney said.
Tenants guilty of violations will receive notices taped to their doors, Mahoney said.
"If we don't do this on the door and just give you this notice through the mail, the issue we were citing will sit there for 30 days," Mahoney said.
The city will help in some clean-up efforts, Bray said.
"You just have to put them out, and let us know you require pickup," Mahoney said.
Housing inspections will not cease outside of the two-week-long Community Clean Sweep, Mahoney said, adding that city officials can hand out summonses and notices on any given weekday during the year.
"This two-week period, we're being a lot more concentrated and getting the word out," he said. "There are times we could ride along two blocks and not make it to any other blocks just because there's too much that day."
Tenants, as opposed to landlords, are the ones who are most likely to be held accountable for the summonses and notices handed out over the coming weeks.
"In most cases, the landlord declares it in the lease that the tenant is responsible," Mahoney said.
Inspectors will be handing out notices for litter or garbage on front lawns, Mahoney said.
When a tenant or homeowner receives a notice for litter violations, they are expected to clean up any remaining debris on their lawns before inspectors return. Inspectors will be photographing litter violations as proof of violations.
"If we happen to come back an hour later, and it's not being cleaned up, we take the picture and send the notice," Mahoney said.
Poor sanitation often poses a health hazard, Bray said. Trash piles on city streets often attract vermin, which are common vectors for germs.
"These types of animals and insects can carry deadly diseases, like rabies," Bray said. "If you add mice or rats to the garbage, they're going to get into adjacent homes."
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