Neighbors say woman causing a stink

Some Chapel Hill residents are trying to convince the town to rid a neighbor's yard of unsanitary human waste, but inspectors say they haven't found evidence for their complaints.

At a Chapel Hill Town Council meeting Monday, several residents complained about the sanitation conditions of Cheng-Yin Fan's yard at 720 Lea Court. Council members agreed to look into what kind of common law action can be taken.

Neighbors claim Fan, who could not be reached for comment, has open sewage in her yard, along with stagnant water and vermin such as rats that could pose potential health risks to the community.

In a letter to inspections director Lance Norris dated Sept. 5, Cynthia Allen, of 10 Lea Court, detailed a list of unsightly objects in the yard.

And the lack of aesthetic beauty of the yard is hardly Allen's main concern. "She is dumping raw sewage into her yard, and we want this cleaned," Allen said in an interview Tuesday.

But Norris said when he sent inspectors on two separate occasions to the property, they found none of the waste Allen's letter implied.

He said that inspectors visited the property Sept. 9 but did not inspect the entire property because they were unable to contact Fan.

After notifying Fan, inspectors visited the property again Sept. 12 for a thorough inspection. "When my inspectors went out they noted no offensive odors, no rotten fruit or any of the other things," Norris said.

But Tania Osborn, of 718 Lea Court, also complained about the yard and indicated an ongoing problem. "What she has is an unlicensed landfill," Osborn said.

"(Tuesday) morning, my son and I walked down our driveway, and we could smell it."

Both women have filed numerous complaints to try to fix the problem.

Allen said she contacted the Chapel Hill police Sept. 4, when she and her husband noticed human waste in buckets in Fan's front yard. Allen and her husband photographed the buckets as documentation. She said she was shocked when police told her, "people were defecating in their yards for 100 years, and there was nothing we could do."

Allen said she continued to contact numerous officials with her complaints. In two letters to Norris dated Sept. 5 and 20, Allen included pictures of the buckets, yard waste and the "building rubbish" she claimed harbored rodents.

Norris said inspectors found one problem on Fan's property, and she was cited for outside storage.

In an Oct 10. memo, Norris wrote that police, inspectors and the Orange County Health Department had been unable to confirm complaints regarding health concerns on the property in actions taken so far.

But Fan was asked to discontinue open storage of household items in her yard and will be fined $50 per day if her property is found to be in violation, the memo states. Norris said the final inspection assessment will take place on Oct. 17.

 

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