Several weeks ago residents of the Willow Turn section of Larchmont used a council meeting to discuss the ‘deterioration’ of their community.
It was several weeks ago when a few, longtime residents of the Willow Turn section Mt. Laurel’s Larchmont neighborhood took it upon themselves to attend a township council meeting to discuss what they viewed as the deterioration of their community.
With many of the homes in the area serving as rental properties, and with a frequent turnover of new residents, the longtime residents described a constant stream of trash and other debris building up in the front yards of properties and throughout the local streets.
In addition, the longtime residents pointed to sidewalks in disrepair and vegetation and other growth that wasn’t being properly managed by tenants or property owners.
When faced with the complaints, councilmembers thanked the residents for bringing the issues to their attention, and township officials said the township zoning officer would investigate the matter.
Now, fast-forward to the most recent council meeting held last week, and several members of council reported their own firsthand investigation as well.
Several councilmembers made a point to note they too had set aside time after council’s previous meeting to personally visit areas such as Willow Turn Chaucer Road and Chaucer Court.
Councilmember Steve Steglik said he and Councilmember Kareem Pritchett visited the area to view the issues residents were having, and Steglik thanked the township manager for already working with the township’s zoning officer to address some of the problems.
“One the biggest reasons why we need people to come to our meetings and to voice concerns or issues is so that we can address that so it won’t be a problem,” Steglik said.
Councilmember Irwin Edelson, who said he too visited the affected area, also agreed with the assessment of the area’s longtime residents, describing the area as a place that “needed some work.”
“Our township is on it, from our zoning officer right up to us, and we’ll stay on it,” Edelson said.
Edelson also encouraged more residents to share their concerns at council meetings, or even through council’s official email addresses listed on the township website.
“You’re our eyes and our ears,” Edelson said. “We can’t do it alone.”
Deputy Mayor Linda Bobo, who also visited the affected area, said she personally noticed a specific concern that the area’s longtime residents had pointed to — the issue of recycling cans filled with a mix of trash and recycling items.
As described by the area’s longtime residents, such recycling containers will continuously remain at a property, as neither recycling nor garbage collectors will retrieve the mixed containers.
“I think we should talk about how to handle that,” Bobo said.
Mayor Kurt Folcher, who spoke last on the issue of Willow Turn and the surrounding area, described the problems as something “very much on our radar” for council and the township.
“The [resident] turnover is the issue — it’s on our radar,” Folcher said.
In the meantime, as previously described by township manager Meredith Tomczyk in comments made to The Sun, residents in any section of town who believe they see violations similar to those discussed by council can contact to the township at any time.
Once alerted, the township can send its zoning officer to investigate any potential issues, after which Tomczyk said the officer will give a tenant or property owner 10 days to rectify problems before issuing a violation.
With a violation, tenants and property owners must then appear in municipal court to face potential fines from the judge until any problems are rectified.
