Code Enforcement Chief Talks Rat Eradication

Recently, Baltimore County code enforcement inspectors did a sweep of the Colgate neighborhood, issuing 60 citations, mostly related to proper trash disposal.

The issue of trash storage and disposal is directly tied to one of the community’s most pressing problems, rat eradication, according to residents who met with Lionel Van Dommelen, chief of code enforcement for Baltimore County. The mini-town hall organized by the Colgate Improvement Association was held Saturday at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Eastern Avenue.

Two dozen neighbors meeting with Van Dommelen expressed support for tougher code enforcement from the agency, asking questions about how to file complaints, what issues the agency oversees, and if they could testify in court regarding complaints. (Only plaintiffs can testify and they are welcome at the administrative hearings, Van Dommelen said.)

Last year, Van Dommelen said, the county rat eradication program targeted 10,000 homes in the Dundalk area, including homes in Colgate, St. Helena, Old Dundalk, West Inverness, Dundalk Village and Stansbrook. He noted the rat problem in the county tends to be in more urbanized areas, like the 21222 and 21224 zip codes.

Van Dommelen added that the problem is growing on other side of Baltimore City, in Arbutus and Catonsville.

“We just got approval for a second rat eradication this year, which will be in late September-October,” Van Dommelen said, adding that he doesn’t yet know the amount of funding for this year’s effort or the total number of homes targeted. He said last year the county spent between $115,000 and $150,000 on rat eradication, but didn’t have an exact figure Saturday. He said currently his agency is looking for contractors to do the work at $10-$15 a house this year, in groups of at least 50 homes at a time.

David Hyland, chairman of Colgate Improvement Association, invited Van Dommelen. Hyland said he pushed hard last year to get the eradication program done in Colgate last year.

“Follow-up is important,” said Hyland, a former exterminator. “I want to make sure last year’s effort isn’t wasted.”

Van Dommelen said trash citations and rat eradication remain at the top of his agency’s priorities, but all complaints are given the same weight. He recommended metal trash cans over plastic ones, but noted rats can eat through metal cans as well. Trash cannot be set outside in cans without proper lids.

And lids can to be attached by cable or rope to avoid loss, Van Dommelen said, despite what solid waste contractors may tell residents.

Trash cannot be stored in sheds, he said. Van Dommelen also recommended residents use clear trash bags for grass clippings or mark bags with grass with an “X” using masking tape to avoid citations.

Van Dommelen said another issue this summer includes foreclosed homes and neglected lawns. “Anything over 12 inches is a violation,” he said, adding the county hires contractors to cut the lawns on foreclosed properties and then bills the listed property owner.

Untagged automobiles are also an ongoing issue. Any vehicle left untagged for a total of 15 days over the course of a calendar year is in violation, Van Dommelen said.

Like other agencies, Van Dommelen said code enforcement has been hurt by budget cuts, with the number of code enforcement officers dropping from 34 to 18 in recent years through attrition. He said he’s been given the green light to add two additional inspectors.

Normally, he said, Code Enforcement and Inspections receives about 17,000 complaints a year, requiring a total of 60,000-80,000 inspections by code enforcement officers.

A Dundalk resident for five decades, Van Dommelen assured his interest in Dundalk is both professional—“I take code enforcement very seriously,” he said —and personal.

“I want the area to be clean, safe and the property values to go up in step with the rest of the market, too,” Van Dommelen said.

Code enforcements complaints can be made via mail, phone, fax or e-mail, Van Dommelen told the audience. That contact information:

County Office Building

Room 213

111 West Chesapeake Avenue

Towson, MD 21204

phone: 410-887-3351

fax: 410-887-2824

pdmenforce@baltimorecountymd.gov