Publication select ▼EASTPOINTE — Repeat violators of Eastpointe’s amended rodent control ordinance won’t have to worry about facing jail time.
At its Feb. 18 meeting, the Eastpointe City Council decided to remove jail time as punishment for people who have violated the city’s amended rodent control ordinance more than once. Originally, as punishment for a second offense, residents could face either a fine or 90 days in jail.
The ordinance, which includes measures to help prevent rodent infestations including keeping garbage and debris inside unless stored in a metal or rat-proof container, could lead to a civil infraction and a fine on the first offense. However, second or subsequent convictions were classified as misdemeanors, according to Eastpointe City Attorney Richard Albright.
When asked by Councilman Harvey Curley, Albright stated that the punishment for subsequent convictions would be left to the discretion of a judge.
“The judge has that discretion as part of her sentencing guidelines,” Albright said.
Albright added that if the charge were to go to trial, he would be able to make a recommendation to the judge as to what sentencing should be, as would the defendant’s attorney. Curley responded by asking Albright what circumstances would lead to a resident going to jail for violating the ordinance.
“I would say it would have to be a very egregious set of facts,” Albright said.
Curley stated that even though having rodents in a yard is terrible, there are easy ways to alleviate the problem that don’t involve jail time.
“The rodents in your yard are terrible, but also, there are such easy ways to alleviate the problem without having to send someone to jail,” he said. “Pick up the damn feces from the animals. Don’t let lumber lay directly on the ground. You can do that.”
In the end, Albright suggested decriminalizing recurring offenses.
“I believe you want to decriminalize this and not make any convictions misdemeanors,” he said. “You want to just have it as civil infractions and maybe just have it as a graduated fine system.”
Previously, after the City Council’s Feb. 4 meeting, a requirement to keep shrubs and hedges 12 inches from the ground was amended. Curley was concerned about senior citizens having to trim them.
Instead of specifying hedges and shrubs, the wording in the ordinance was changed to specify “appropriate greenery.”
“That’s why we changed it to ‘appropriate greenery,’ because then we don’t have to list every single possible thing that should apply,” Councilman Cardi Demonaco Jr. said.
City Council voted unanimously Feb. 18 to amend the ordinance. City Manager Mariah Walton said the city will inform residents through the city’s Constant Contact email system, as well as cable advertisements and flyers that will be delivered to their homes. Amended ordinances are also published in a newspaper.
