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February 12, 2009

Council OKs littering ordinance

By Tom Blakey

A new ordinance unanimously approved Tuesday by the Norman City Council will require residents to prove, in a court of law, they did not litter, rather than having the city attempt to prove they did.

The council unanimously approved the ordinance that holds businesses and individuals accountable for unlawfully discarded trash or litter.

City of Norman Utilities Director Ken Komiske said the littering ordinance targets those who discard trash inside, or next to, common dumpsters used by several businesses. Business owners on Campus Corner asked city officials to help them find a solution to the overflow of trash surrounding shared dumpsters on Campus Corner, he said.

The ordinance would be allowed under state law "with the presumption of lowering the littering in the Campus Corner area and other parts in Norman," said Assistant City Attorney Rebecca Frazier.

"The attempt is that if two or more bags of trash is found outside a dump site, the latest owner of the trash will be held accountable," she said.

The ordinance creates a "rebuttable presumption" that an individual or business is littering if two or more items at one location bear a common address or company name "in a form which tends to identify the latest owner of the items."

With approval of the ordinance, anyone convicted of littering will be subject to a fine of $50 to $750 and/or up to 60 days in jail.

Council also approved:

· On first reading, change of zoning on a tract of land in the Springbrook Addition from suburban office commercial to general commercial; addition of a church in the Greenleaf Trails PUD at 12th Avenue NE and Tecumseh Road; the establishment of regulations and criteria for outdoor events and festivals, and removal of the exception for solicitor/peddler permits for events held on parkland.

· The mayor's appointments to the Public Safety Oversight Committee: Malaka Elyazgi, George Henderson, Mary Sue Schnell, Keith Allen, Don Allen, David Wilson, Emily Meazell, W.E. Duff and Don Holyfield.

· Acceptance and final payment on the Andrews Park climbing boulder project.

· Adopted the Environmental Control Advisory Board's 12 goals for reducing emissions for City operations and the community as a whole.

· Appropriated funds to finish rebanding frequencies on the City's radio system.

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