The Calloway County Fiscal Court's Solid Waste Committee is looking at expanding the county’s nuisance ordinance.
Committee chair Tim Todd says the current ordinance is not defined well enough and lacking in the areas of enforcement and penalties.
“There’s really nothing spelled out that the enforcement officer can really do as far as enforcing anything,” Todd said. “So, we’re trying to just hone that up and, if you will, put a little teeth in the ordinance itself like some of the other counties in Kentucky have.”
Calloway County Attorney K. Bryan Ernstberger told the committee Monday that a new ordinance should cast a wide net with issues of safety and be cautious in cases that are purely unsightly. Ernstberger also presented multiple examples of other counties' nuisance ordinances for consideration.
"We're in the exploratory phase of gathering data, gathering information in order to, eventually, lead down the road of drafting a new ordinance," Todd said.
The issue was first discussed at January's committee meeting. County environmental planner and committee member Clayton Hendricks said more than 40 residents have contacted him since that meeting to voice their support for an updated ordinance.
The committee will discuss the issue further at its next meeting on March 14 before submitting any drafts to the fiscal court.
