Trash, abandoned cars, deteriorating houses among top service requests on Dayton Delivers

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The city of Dayton received more than 13,000 online service requests last year and some of the top complaints were about trash, abandoned vehicles and deteriorating structures.

Garbage, abandoned cars and decaying buildings are eyesores and can reduce property values and harm the way people feel about the places they live and visit.

But Dayton officials say the city tries to respond quickly to complaints and takes immediate action whenever possible.

Dayton Delivers “is an effective and efficient way for residents (and) citizens to engage with the city for various services and bring concerns to the city’s attention,” said Fred Stovall, Dayton’s public works director. “This process is available 24/7 everyday for communicating to the city at (their) convenience.”

Dayton Delivers

Dayton residents and other community members submitted about 13,485 online requests for service in 2024 through the city’s Dayton Delivers website and app.

The Dayton Delivers app and website launched about a decade ago to be a customer service portal that gives people a way to notify the city about non-emergency issues like potholes, malfunctioning traffic lights, clogged sewers, downed limbs, dead animals and illegal dumping.

The city’s public works call center also received more than 48,600 calls last year.

Residents have complained about trash in the backyard of this home on Faulkner Avenue in northwest Dayton. The backyard has discarded tires and tubs full of junk. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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Last year, bulk trash pickup was the most common service request submitted on the Dayton Delivers platform (5,800 requests).

Other top reports and complaints were about trash in yards or near alleyways (858 reports/requests); abandoned cars parked on the street or public property (627); and deteriorated structures (624).

The city also received many complaints and service requests about high grass, abandoned vehicles on private property and potholes.

Trash in yards or alleys

The back yard of a boarded-up home on the 800 block of Faulkner Avenue in northwest Dayton is full of trash bags, discarded tires and plastic tubs full of junk.

Pastor Ralph Guy recently spoke at a Dayton City Commission meeting to ask the city to take action to clean up the property and remove squatters who stay in the vacant home and other boarded-up properties nearby.

“We have a trash problem over there that’s real bad,” Guy said. “It’s out of hand.”

The city received complaints about the property through the Dayton Delivers app in mid-November and late December. Community members told the city that the property had issues with trash and illegal dumping.

The city issued an emergency vacate notice to the Faulkner Avenue property in late December, and before that the city also issued an emergency repair order, a citation and a legal order, said Steve Gondol, Dayton’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development.

Housing inspection staff swept the area, including the alley between Ferguson and Faulkner avenues, Gondol said. He said issues with trash in the right-of-way have been and will be addressed by public works once the snow melts.

He said issues with trash on private property will handled by city employees once the snow recedes.

A mound of trash in the alley behind homes on Grafton and Rockwood avenues in Dayton's Grafton Hill neighborhood. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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Last year, trash piled up in many parts of the city, including behind some homes and properties on Grafton and Grand avenues in the Grafton Hill neighborhood.

Matt Sauer, president of the Grafton Hill Association, said trash is a major issue in the neighborhood.

“We have some highly-trafficked corridors like West Grand that see an accumulation of casual littering but there’s also deliberate dumping like mattresses, whole bags of trash, etc.,” Sauer said.

He said vacant properties in the neighborhood are not being maintained, which attracts illegal dumping. He said trash piles up in the alleys because of negligent apartment building owners who allow their dumpsters to overflow.

Sauer said the city is pretty good at responding to Dayton Delivers complaints.

Abandoned cars

Earlier this month, the city received a Dayton Delivers request about an abandoned vehicle on the 500 block of West Grand Avenue.

A Ford F-150 truck was parked on the street that had a busted-out passenger window, and the inside of the cab looked like it had been riffled through.

The city received a report of an abandoned vehicle on Grand Avenue in Dayton's Grafton Hill neighborhood. The Ford F-150 truck has a broken out passenger window, and some people say the vehicle has been taking up a prime parking spot for a while. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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Automobiles are not allowed to be left on the street or public property for more than 48 hours, said Tim Gould, a Dayton police officer who is in charge of abandoned vehicle enforcement.

Vehicles also are not allowed to be on private property for more than a couple days without the permission of the property owner.

Police can tow cars and trucks that fail to move or that have tags that are at least 30 days expired, Gould said.

Gould said police try to contact vehicle owners and get them to address the violations.

“It’s our policy to try to give people an opportunity to actually renew the plates and get the vehicle off the street,” Gould said in a YouTube video the city posted online. “We try not to tow everyone’s car, if we can help it.”

Deteriorated homes

Like abandoned vehicles, abandoned and blighted homes are a common source of complaints and frustration. The Gem City is home to thousands of residential properties with significant repair needs.

Gondol said the city tries to be proactive about housing code enforcement and it needs community members’ help to identify structures and properties with problems.

The city can board up vacant homes that are unsecured.

Gondol said city staff often try to contact the owners to start rehab or repair plans.

A blighted, vacant home in the Southern Dayton View neighborhood. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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The city may take legal action if an owner fails to address housing code violations.

Public Works director Stovall said inspectors are assigned to investigate and verify complaints.

He said they will issue a “courtesy notice” to the owner to inform them of problems to try to get them to abate deficiencies.

“If the owner has been notified previously, we will issue the appropriate penalty, either a ticket or legal order depending on the situation,” Stovall said. “What we cannot do is abate the issue ourselves. Whether removing litter and debris from the yard or cutting overgrown grass and bushes, we are limited to our response for occupied properties.”

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