DETROIT (WXYZ) — A southwest Detroit business owner says he's had to deal with illegal dumping before and is now speaking out after experiencing it yet again on a property that he's restoring in the Hubbard Farms neighborhood.
Omar Hernandez is the owner of two successful businesses in southwest Detroit, the Mexicantown Bakery and Armandos Restaurant.
He’s committed to helping continue develop the southwest Detroit area including the Hubbard Farms neighborhood and a historic building built in 1907.
Last Saturday, he caught two individuals dropping off rundown furniture onto his property on surveillance video. He says most recently, people have been illegally dumping into the dumpsters he pays for on the property, but he’s more concerned about the blight because that means possibly dealing with a ticket from the city.
"This is actually the first time they dropped off furniture like that. Most of the times when I have dumpsters out there, I would come back the next morning and they’ve filled it up," Hernandez said.
Crystal Rogers is the general manager of Environmental Affairs at the Building Safety Engineering and Environmental Department for the city of Detroit. Part of her job includes managing the environmental control inspectors who write tickets for residents having things like tall grass, weeds and blight on their property.
Rogers says while the problem has gotten better throughout the years because of surveillance cameras around highly targeted areas, it is still happening.
"We certainly are not tolerating it now. When we see illegal dumping, we investigate it. We look hard to try and determine who placed it there," she said. "We have cameras located strategically around the city to try to catch people illegally dumping. And if we catch you illegally dumping, we will seize your vehicle as well as charge you with the cost of cleanup."
Rogers adds that those who illegally dump can also be the subject of tickets ranging from $100 to $5,000.
Hernandez used to also own a warehouse in Claytown neighborhood a few years ago. He says people would illegally dump so often there that he would be in court every other month fighting tickets he received from the city about the blight.
“You’d have to go to the city for the ticket and explain you didn’t do it. They don’t care — it's on your property, you’re responsible for it and that used to happen a lot," Hernandez said.
The city wants to work with residents who are victims of illegal dumping but reiterates that it is the property owner’s responsibility to maintain their property.
"We don't want to punish our residents. We want to work with them to get the debris removed," Rogers said. "If someone believes they have been illegally dumped upon, they should reach out to us. They can report it using the Improve Detroit app and just be sure to identify yourself as the property owner and leave your contact information."
Rogers recommends homeowners immediately report blight to the city if they are victims of illegal dumping, so they are not stuck with the ticket if they are not at fault. You can do so through the Improve Detroit app, by calling 313-876-0426 or by visiting the city website.
Meanwhile Hernandez only has one message to those continuing to attempt to blight the city: “Don’t do it, 'cause we will catch you.”
