Trash In Alley

[JVanScoyoc]

I have a new neighbor who insists on lining up their trash for weeks in the back alley. The alley is shared by four houses, they are the first closest to the sidewalk. It sits there for weeks even, stinks, attracting mice, looks bad (you can see if from the sidewalk) and also makes it impossible for the rest of us to use the alley unless we want to climb over trash. Complaints fell on deaf ears. It would be one thing if they kept it in a trash can, but it is just thrown everywhere and piled up. I would post a picture, but I don't seemto have approval to do so. Very frustrating. Anyone know the city rules for this? It is not a noted street or even a public sidewalk, but if anything, it looks really bad for people walking through the neighboor to see trash piled up.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Try calling 311.

[chuckiezip]

does this have anything to do with the TERRIBLE fish stench around 9th & Christian? I've never smelled it so bad before...
If this is due to your unhelpful neighbors, forget about 311 - call 911!

[mendocino]

There also seems to be an unusually large number of people living in that small apartment.

[JVanScoyoc]

Yeah there are like 20 people living in there. Probably why they have some much trash! I will call 311 on Monday. I gave them the chance to clean it up.

[whiterose1713]

Oh my God the fish stench was AWFUL at 9th and Christian this weekend. It smelled like someone had dumped gallons of fish sauce on the sidewalk, it was unbearable!

[EdMundo]

§ 10-713. Litter on Private Premises.

"(1) No person shall throw or deposit litter on any private premises, whether or not owned by such person, except that the owner or person in control of private premises may maintain authorized private receptacles for deposit or collection of litter."

American Legal Publishing - Online Library

See what 311 can do for you, but if it persists, call 911. No one should have to put up with that kind of crap. If they have more garbage than they can keep in their premises until trash day, then they can quit being lazy d*cks and drive it to one of the City's sanitation drop off sites.

I have a new neighbor who insists on lining up their trash for weeks in the back alley. The alley is shared by four houses, they are the first closest to the sidewalk. It sits there for weeks even, stinks, attracting mice, looks bad (you can see if from the sidewalk) and also makes it impossible for the rest of us to use the alley unless we want to climb over trash. Complaints fell on deaf ears. It would be one thing if they kept it in a trash can, but it is just thrown everywhere and piled up. I would post a picture, but I don't seemto have approval to do so. Very frustrating. Anyone know the city rules for this? It is not a noted street or even a public sidewalk, but if anything, it looks really bad for people walking through the neighboor to see trash piled up.

[walnuthill]

I reported trash dumping on a seldom-used side street last week on SeeClickFix and was shocked at the quick results. It's the back side of an apartment building and the trash heap out there had gotten out of control--old furniture, torn open bags of food, even a rowboat (no really) that had filled with more trash. This morning I saw a city worker taking photos and asked if she was giving the apartment building owners a ticket. She said they were getting THREE tickets, and that she would be back to check on the situation frequently (I told her it's like that all the time). She seemed really into those tickets! There may have been more than just my report, but I was fairly impressed with the response.

[sharkey]

Get a posse together with a few other neighbors and throw it all back over their fence into their yard.

[carloss]

Since alleyways are private property, the city won't come out to clean them. They are the responsibility of the owners whose property abuts them.

I called 311 today about the alley behind the 7-Eleven at 10th and Snyder, and next to the vacant commercial building that used to house an Indian grocery. They said I could try contacting CLIP but it wasn't any guarantee that anything would happen.

Any other solutions? Of course I'm trying to contact the property owners themselves, but I'm not exactly optimistic since they have no legal motivation to do squat.

[sharkey]

§ 10-713. Litter on Private Premises.

"(1) No person shall throw or deposit litter on any private premises, whether or not owned by such person, except that the owner or person in control of private premises may maintain authorized private receptacles for deposit or collection of litter."

American Legal Publishing - Online Library

See what 311 can do for you, but if it persists, call 911. No one should have to put up with that kind of crap. If they have more garbage than they can keep in their premises until trash day, then they can quit being lazy d*cks and drive it to one of the City's sanitation drop off sites.

Alley is not private property, so the statute you cite does not apply.

[sharkey]

No more than 3 unrelated people may live in a single residence, so put in a L&Icomplaint through 311. I would take a big grain shovel and shovel it all back into their yard. You and the other 2 neighbors take turns doing it until they get the message.

[sharkey]

Better yet, pile it all against their front door.

[carloss]

Update: No sooner do I call 311 than I find out the alley is being cleaned through the city's Community Service Program. It actually looks presentable again. Pretty sure this was planned in advance, so I'll call it a lucky coincidence.

[Pinkham]

Alley is not private property, so the statute you cite does not apply.

I don't know about the specific details here, but in most cases the alleys ARE private property -- the deed for each adjoining property typically contains a clause specifying the right of access to the alley, in the nature of an easement.

If the alley is private property subject to an easement, I suppose the cited trash ordinance could apply. But other obstructions of the alley -- like a tree growing in the alley -- are generally treated as a private dispute between neighbors.

[sharkey]

[QUOTE=Pinkham;550722]I don't know about the specific details here, but in most cases the alleys ARE private property -- the deed for each adjoining property typically contains a clause specifying the right of access to the alley, in the nature of an easement.

If the alley is private property subject to an easement, I suppose the cited trash ordinance could apply. But other obstructions of the alley -- like a tree growing in the alley -- are generally treated as a private dispute between neighbors.[/QUOTE

It's not private property. It's public property but each home has an easement to use it for passage and as a rainwater course. It could still be that the city is not responsible to maintain it, similar to the situation with your front sidewalk. If the alley were private propertyowned by the homeowners collectively, there would be no need for easements to use it. You don't need an easement to use something that you are co-owner of.

This is a general statement for most allies that run behind rowhouses. There are some places where the allies are private and part of the individual property. An example would be a property up in NoLibs that has a courtyard behind it accessed by a private side alley.

[Pinkham]

If the alley were private propertyowned by the homeowners collectively, there would be no need for easements to use it. You don't need an easement to use something that you are co-owner of.

The following comments go beyond the original question of whether someone may store trash in an alley. But these comments may help explain why there is so much confusion about who is responsible for the alleys:

Maybe "private property" and "easement" aren't the right terms. The deed language, "for a passage and a watercourse", is pretty standard in Philadelphia deeds. My deed, for example, lists my property as 83 feet deep to a certain three-foot-six-inch wide alley. However, the OPA/BRT calculates my lot depth as 85 feet deep, because they want to collect taxes on that 2-foot wide stip of land behind me that is dedicated to alley. The properties on the other side of the alley are listed as 60 feet deep, with the rearmost 1-1/2 feet of depth of the lot dedicated to use as an alley. Added together, the 2 feet from my side, and the 18 inches from the other side, makes for the 3-foot-6-inches wide alley. For the properties behind me, each property owner owns his or her 18-inch-wide section of the alley. But they may not close off access to it without the consent of all adjoining property owners, and the OPA/BRT taxes them for the full 60-foot depth of the lot.

On my side of the alley, the situation is slightly different. By their calculations, the OPA considers that I own the rear-most 2 feet of my lot, which is dedicated to use as an alley. I asked one of the District Surveyors about it, and he said that the rear-most two feet of my lot were officially out-of-title. Of that 3-1/2 foot wide alley, 18-inch wide sections of it are owned by the various property owners on the street behind me. The 24-inch wide section of alley directly behind me is not included in ANYONE's deed. It is not officially owned by me, by the City, nor by anyone else. By City records, there is a 2-foot wide strip of land just beyond the property line of the 60-foot deep properties that is owned by NO ONE, but which nevertheless must be kept open for a passage and a watercourse. The title doesn't show that I own it, but the OPA/BRT taxes me for that 24-inch wide strip anyway.

Typically, each segment of the alley is PRIVATELY OWNED by one of the property owners on the street, but that segment of the alley may not be closed off for the PRIVATE USE of that property owner, without the consent of all property owners who have deeded access to the alley.

[sharkey]

The following comments go beyond the original question of whether someone may store trash in an alley. But these comments may help explain why there is so much confusion about who is responsible for the alleys:

Maybe "private property" and "easement" aren't the right terms. The deed language, "for a passage and a watercourse", is pretty standard in Philadelphia deeds. My deed, for example, lists my property as 83 feet deep to a certain three-foot-six-inch wide alley. However, the OPA/BRT calculates my lot depth as 85 feet deep, because they want to collect taxes on that 2-foot wide stip of land behind me that is dedicated to alley. The properties on the other side of the alley are listed as 60 feet deep, with the rearmost 1-1/2 feet of depth of the lot dedicated to use as an alley. Added together, the 2 feet from my side, and the 18 inches from the other side, makes for the 3-foot-6-inches wide alley. For the properties behind me, each property owner owns his or her 18-inch-wide section of the alley. But they may not close off access to it without the consent of all adjoining property owners, and the OPA/BRT taxes them for the full 60-foot depth of the lot.

On my side of the alley, the situation is slightly different. By their calculations, the OPA considers that I own the rear-most 2 feet of my lot, which is dedicated to use as an alley. I asked one of the District Surveyors about it, and he said that the rear-most two feet of my lot were officially out-of-title. Of that 3-1/2 foot wide alley, 18-inch wide sections of it are owned by the various property owners on the street behind me. The 24-inch wide section of alley directly behind me is not included in ANYONE's deed. It is not officially owned by me, by the City, nor by anyone else. By City records, there is a 2-foot wide strip of land just beyond the property line of the 60-foot deep properties that is owned by NO ONE, but which nevertheless must be kept open for a passage and a watercourse. The title doesn't show that I own it, but the OPA/BRT taxes me for that 24-inch wide strip anyway.

Typically, each segment of the alley is PRIVATELY OWNED by one of the property owners on the street, but that segment of the alley may not be closed off for the PRIVATE USE of that property owner, without the consent of all property owners who have deeded access to the alley.

No way. You own what your deed describes and no more. If it shows your property abutting the alley, you don't own any part of that alley, and the OPA can't change that. What legal requirements the adjacent property owners have to maintain the alley I am not sure of, but that is another matter. As I stated before, by way of example, your deed does not include your front sidewalk as part of your property, but you must maintain its condition.

[PhilaCap]

You can call the Philadelphia Alleyway Commission -- they specifically address these types of issues and can assist you with the problem.

[Jayfar]

You can call the Philadelphia Alleyway Commission -- they specifically address these types of issues and can assist you with the problem.

Stop making stuff up!