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Battle continues over Austintown yard cleanup after 2 convictions
By AMANDA TONOLI
AUSTINTOWN
A residential property-turned-scrapyard could face further litigation after more than a yearlong battle.
Mary Porter, tenant at 129 N. Navarre Ave., has been convicted twice of violating a zoning ordinance because her scrap-inhabited property has been ruled a public nuisance.
She faces jail time if another violation occurs, a judge has ruled.
The actions against Porter date back to 2014.
Darren Crivelli, Austintown zoning inspector, followed up on a complaint filed in 2014 about the property and asked Porter to clean it up.
“This is for single-family homes and not junk or scrapyards,” Crivelli said. “You can’t change the use of a residential property to a scrap yard.”
Porter refused to comply with the cleanup order and was convicted in July 2014 of violating the zoning ordinance and fined $150 plus court costs.
Township workers cleaned the property to regulation standard only to have it filled back up with scrap weeks later.
Crivelli then contacted the property owner, Frank Howley of Berlin Center, about the problem. Howley told Crivelli he couldn’t evict the tenant. Porter is his daughter.
Crivelli wrote to Howley in June 2015 about his property being in violation of the zoning ordinance and gave him a month and a half to clean it up. The property again was declared to be in violation. Howley paid a $150 fine plus court costs, and township workers again cleaned the property.
Scrap items built back up, however, prompting Crivelli to again cite Porter.
She pleaded guilty at her hearing in December and received another $150 fine plus court costs.
Judge David D’Apolito of Mahoning County Area Court ordered Porter at that hearing to maintain the property to comply with zoning regulations or she would be found in contempt of court and could serve up to 180 days in Mahoning County jail.
Crivelli said he is going to monitor the property, and if there are any further violations, he will take Porter back to court.
“If there is a tire in your yard, I’m not going to cite you. If you have kids and their bikes are in the driveway, I’m not going to cite you. But if there’s a black leather chair in the front yard – that belongs inside,” Crivelli said.
Porter since has told Crivelli she doesn’t live at the residence anymore, which is still littered with scrap pieces.
Porter’s legal counsel declined to comment Thursday, and Porter could not be reached.