Reasonable Efforts to Clean Weren't Made

DOS issued a violation notice to landlord for not cleaning 18 inches into the street in front of his building. Landlord claimed that he made reasonable efforts to clean and that the debris may have come from areas outside the building. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $50. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that he swept every morning at 6:00 a.m., that his wife cleaned again at 8:00 a.m., and that he again cleaned the curb area at 6:00 p.m. But the violation notice stated that at 9:30 a.m., there was matted debris in front of the building. So landlord's claim of reasonable cleaning efforts wasn't believable. Also, it didn't matter where the debris came from. It was landlord's responsibility to keep the area clean.

Verdel: ECB App. No. 35649 (7/29/03) [2-pg. doc.]