ONLY ON ABC57: People need to stop dumping in District 2,' Ride-along with SB Councilmember Ophelia Gooden-Rogers

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Second-year South Bend Common Councilmember Ophelia Gooden-Rogers invited ABC57's Annie Kate on a ride-along to highlight what she calls one of District 2's biggest problems.

"People need to stop dumping in District 2," she said. "And they come from all sides of town to dump in District 2. Why over here? Is it because it's the west side? Is it because it's a low-income neighborhood?"

Furniture and trash were scattered throughout the streets Gooden-Rogers drove down, such as on Linden Avenue behind the Charles Black Center.

"We got this beautiful center here, and then you come along and throw your trash out? And this didn't fall off a truck. This was dumped here," she said.

Such as North Elmer Street, where Gooden-Rogers pointed out a white van in the 1300 block full of trash, which she claimed she's reported three times to code enforcement, and it's still sitting on the street more than a month later.

"Children play out here, around this. Why is it still sitting here?" she said.

A common and persistent dumping site is also the alley behind North Elmer Street.

"This is a constant spot," Gooden-Rogers said.

A smashed TV, siding, paint, and clothes could be seen. The pile reappears in days, if not hours, every time it's cleaned, one neighbor said.

"We do have neighbors that do call and let us know, 'hey, this mattress, or this boxspring,' like Mr. Davis," Gooden-Rogers said.

She was talking about Steve Davis, who lives on College Street.

"About six weeks, that chair's been sitting across the street," he said, pointing at an armchair on the side of the road. "Six weeks, that's a code violation, and code enforcement hasn't picked it up."

It could be all the homes that became rentals, he said.

"Ten years ago, this was a nice neighborhood," he said. "The grass was kept mowed, and all the houses and everything were nice. You look at it now, what's it going to look like 10 years from now?"

"They say South Bend isn't dying. South Bend isn't, but the west side is," Davis said.

Davis said he wants better code enforcement, but Gooden-Rogers said it's also on the community to take responsibility.

"Help people to understand that you do not have to do this. You can get the city to come out and pick your stuff up," she said.

South Bend residents can schedule a city pickup for large items by calling 311.

ABC57 reached out to the City of South Bend for comment and received the following statement:

Once the city recieves a complaint, an inspector will visit the property to determine if a violation exists. This initial inspection usually occurs within 2 business days of the complaint. If so, a violation notice is sent to the property owner of record, providing 10 days to come into compliance. After the timeframe has ended, the property is reinspected to determine if the violation remains. If so, then it is sent to the appropriate crew to abate the issue. Timeline for abatement to occur will depend on where it is in the team’s queue to address.

However, there are circumstances that require the city to take an additional step prior to abating the issue, such as if it is located behind a fence. In that instance, the case must go to a NSE Hearing before we can enter the property. Depending on how far out we are with full hearing dockets it can take at least 30 days before a hearing is held. Following the hearing, there is a 10-day appeal period. Once the appeal period has ended the city can move forward with abatement.