The city of Greenwood plans to require junkyards within its limits to begin cleaning up their acts.
The city is about 60 days out from bringing proposed revisions to the city’s Code of Ordinances before the City Council for its consideration.
“The Department of Environmental Quality has talked with them; the city has talked with them about abiding by the law,” said Mayor Carolyn McAdams.
The mayor said at least two existing junkyards and a tire recycler have been grandfathered to operate in the city. Under the proposed changes, all such businesses would be required to put up concealing fencing to shield the junk or tires from public view.
Items within the yards could not exceed the height of the fenced enclosure, McAdams said.
The mayor said the proposed changes were based in part upon ordinances in other Mississippi cities including Tupelo, Cleveland, Oxford and Starkville.
“The way it is right now, we don’t have much leverage. This will help us,” McAdams said.
Efforts to contact Sonny’s Tire Recyclers, located at 505 Walthall St., were not successful this morning.
McAdams said residents have complained about junk piling up in some yards in residential areas.
The initiative will also give city code enforcement officers greater power to make homeowners come into compliance with city laws.
“People say, ‘I keep my yard up and then, two doors down, there’s someone with old lawn mowers or washing machines in their yard,’” McAdams said.
The mayor said it’s time to get the city’s ordinances “into the 21st century.”
Rather than take it in all at once, McAdams said, she’d like for the council to place it on its study agenda. It would be during that work session that the council’s input would be sought in tweaking the proposals before actually voting on them.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
