A default judgment has been entered against a Graham homeowner that will allow Alamance County’s environmental health department to remove debris and trash that, for more than two years, has nearly overtaken the yard at 815 Grey Fox Trail in Graham.
The Alamance County attorney’s office had filed a lawsuit in August of this year to force the homeowner, Patricia Hayes Walker, to clean up her property along Grey Fox Trail, where the county found that garbage and debris had piled up outside the mobile home for more than two years, posing a health hazard to the home’s occupants, neighbors, and the general public.
Walker was initially notified in writing that the unsanitary condition of her property was in violation of Alamance County’s solid waste ordinance two years ago: on January 24, 2022 and on November 8, 2022, according to the court file.
Walker has allowed the unsanitary conditions to continue unabated outside of her home, which is located just south of Graham off Rogers Road and beyond Southern High School, according to the court file.
A default judgment that has been entered against Walker in superior court states that she failed to respond to the complaint within the timeframe for doing so. The default judgment, signed by
Alamance County senior resident superior court judge Andrew (“Andy”) Hanford on November 12, also indicates that she apparently failed to show up for a scheduled hearing on the same date.
Alamance County’s solid waste ordinance prohibits any property owner or tenant from accumulating, storing, or depositing garbage or solid waste that isn’t properly stored upon the property; it also stipulates that garbage and/or solid waste may not be left outside of any building or dwelling for more than two weeks, the complaint states.
In its suit, the county attorney’s office cited a provision within that ordinance, which stipulates, “solid waste that provides substantial risk…that would provide food or haborage for rodents, attract, feed or provide for breeding of flies, mosquitoes, or vermin, or in any manner that would create a health, fire, or safety hazard shall be removed immediately.”
Various county staff members visited the property in May 2023 and December 2023 and, on both occasions, observed a “substantial pile of household bags, old discarded personal property, and other debris discarded onto the front and side yards of the property.”
Following an inspection of the premises at 815 Grey Fox Trail, the county’s Environmental Health Department subsequently determined that the property was in violation of the solid waste ordinance and gave Walker, the homeowner, a deadline of January 28, 2024 to remove the piles of household trash and other debris being stored on her property, according to the suit. That deadline was later extended by an additional five weeks in late February 2024.
However, county staff visited the property again in late April and late July of this year and found that the condition of the property had not changed since their previous visits, while “neighbors have continued to voice their concerns to county staff,” according to the county’s suit.
Alamance County’s Environmental Health Department had sought an injunction to force Walker to remove the waste and debris from the property – or allow county staff to take any actions necessary to remedy the conditions.
“There is an increasing threat that such material and debris will attract and harbor insects, rodents or other pests,” the county asserted in its suit. “The existence and maintenance of the defendant’s premises with its current solid waste collection is unlawful and, if not abated, will continue to pose a threat to the occupants and members of the general public.”
According to the original suit, the county intends to place a lien against Walker’s property to recover court costs, as well as any costs associated with cleaning up the property.
