Family warned about business

Officials say the activity is more than just recycling.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- City officials say they have asked a Kline Street family to stop operating a business from their home; now the situation may be headed to court.
Jerry Lambert, city safety service director, said officials believe a salvage-type business has been operating out of the Griffin family home on Kline Street for quite some time. Officials say Steven Griffin, 17, is collecting recyclable metal, bringing it to the home, breaking it down and selling the material for scrap.
Lambert said the family has been asked repeatedly to stop the activity because the home is zoned residential. He said officials have found it difficult to see the business in operation.
"The problem we were having initially was that, yes, we had pictures of what they were doing, but it was hard to get up there when things were being dumped," he said.
A police officer and David Hall, an engineering and zoning department worker, went to the Griffin home to issue one last warning Friday. Hall said the family was told that one more complaint would mean the filing of formal charges in court.
Lambert's observations
According to Lambert, the final warning went unheeded. He said photographs were taken of activity at the house over the weekend that shows the business in operation. Lambert also said he witnessed some of the activity.
"I personally saw them bringing things up their driveway Sunday," he said. "All we are doing is following what is in the [zoning] book for an R1 and R2 area."
Lambert said the photos will be presented to the prosecutor along with his personal account of activity at the house. Should the prosecutor agree, Lambert wants to cite the family in violation of the city's zoning codes.
Amanda Griffin, the homeowner, told The Vindicator earlier this month that there is no business operating at the home and what city officials are trying to stop amounts to nothing more than a 17-year-old boy recycling large items for cash.
Griffin said her stepson has been collecting the items and recycling them.
Lambert said the city makes a distinction between basic recycling and recycling done on a large enough scale to make a profit.
"If they have three, four or five loads of aluminum going out of there every day, that is more than just recycling," he said. "As far as I am concerned, there is a difference between someone recycling and someone recycling for profit, and in this case, there is a profit."
If found to be in violation of city zoning codes, Lambert said, the family could face fines of up to $100 a day and 30 days in jail.