JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two men say they were wrongfully cited by the city of Jacksonville over trash they say is not theirs.
John Watson and his brother Jim own the 617 Melba Street lot. It’s a lot that is covered with piles of garbage.
They recently got letters in the mail dated February 13th, saying their property was cited for a “nuisance” violation for “garbage and debris”.
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The letter went on to say that if they didn’t have the trash cleaned up in 15 days, they would be fined.
But the Watsons say that’s not their mess to clean up.
“We’ve been fighting with the city to have this all cleaned up because it’s the neighbors at 620’s trash, and it’s been going on for like two years,” said John Watson. “It’s very frustrating.”
We told you last Friday that one neighbor submitted complaints to the city of Jacksonville about the trash for over a year.
He says he watched as the trash was pulled from the house on 620 Chestnut Street and put into a dumpster a few months ago.
But in the last few weeks, he and the Watsons say that the dumpster – and just the dumpster -- was picked up by someone…while the trash was left behind.
Robert Jeffers works across the street and saw the whole thing.
“We physically watched them dump the trash out of the dumpster back onto the lawn and leave,” Jeffers told Action News Jax’s Madison Foglio last week.
Since Action News Jax brought you this story on Friday, the city has inspected both the Watson’s property and 620 Chestnut Street.
The Watsons were left with this orange sign that reads “trash/debris remains: sent for abatement.”
We went around the corner and spoke with the tenants at the house the Watson’s claim is behind the trash.
He says they got cited too...but the Watsons still believe they shouldn’t be responsible for any of this.
“I didn’t ask for the trash. I don’t want the trash and as far as I’m concerned the city is letting them put it off their property onto mine so I’m going to give it back so if the city don’t do something,” said John Watson.
We reached out to the city and asked them to respond to the Watsons’ claim that they are being unfairly cited and that the trash on their property is not theirs.
You can read their response below:
The Municipal Code Compliance Division addresses nuisance violations based on the conditions observed during a property inspection. Property owners are responsible for maintaining their property in compliance with city code, including the removal of trash, debris, and other nuisance conditions located on the parcel.
When violations such as trash, debris, or illegal dumping are observed, the responsibility for cleaning and maintaining the property falls on the property owner. If debris is observed on a property during an inspection, a notice of violation may be issued to the property owner regardless of how the debris came to be there.
The city notes that as of Monday afternoon, 617 Melba Street has not been abated for nuisance violations.
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