In the wake of today's high winds, several homes on the west side of Carson City are again being inundated by tumbleweeds, most of which nearby residents claim are coming from the nearby Andersen Ranch, and the city isn't doing enough to stop it.
The Andersen Ranch property is currently undergoing discussions which would develop the property into a new subdivision with just over 200 homes.
In the last few years, the Andersen open space property has begun to fill with weeds which, during the particularly active wind storms during the fall, causes hundreds upon hundreds of tumbleweeds to escape the property and fly into the yards of unsuspecting neighbors, reports property-adjacent residents, piling so high that it would be comical if it weren't so frustrating and inconvenient.
Alicia Timoff is one westside resident who has been repeatedly affected by the tumbleweed assault. She bought her house just over a year ago and on multiple occasions following storms such as the one the region is experiencing this weekend, she has lost complete access to her yard for herself and her family.
During the last weekend in September, several residents alerted Carson Now to the presence of dozens of tumbleweeds on Mountain Street near the Andersen property that were in such quantity they were becoming a traffic hazard.
In Timoff's backyard, which backs up to the Andersen property, the pile of tumbleweeds in her yard reached heights of over ten feet, piling so high they were able to roll onto the roof, and covered the yard from the fence line to her sliding glass door, completely blocking her access from her yard.
This was only ten days after a previous windstorm had blown the weeds into her yard, she said, which took a day and several dozen trash bags to remove.
Timoff's neighbors, Pat and Jacque Anderson (of no relation to the Andersens), have been in conversations with the city for months regarding the tumbleweeds, they said, but so far little has been done.
The couple left town for the weekend and when they returned, they too found their yard covered in the tumbleweeds.
"The city left two trash bins that neighbors were using for the weeds in their yard," said Jacque. "We are doing that this weekend, but the time costs to make the area safe is challenging, and with the winds it's really a vicious cycle."
Jacque said other neighbors are hiring clean up crews to dispose of the weeds and forwarding the bill to the Andersen Ranch owners, but that isn't an option for Jacque and Pat.
"We just aren't ready to spend $350-$400 and then take the chance it won't be reimbursed," she said.
During the late September windstorm that resulted in a 10-foot wall of tumbleweeds in areas of Timoff's backyard, she was able to make contact with Carson City Supervisor Stacey Giomi, who came to Timoff's house and saw the yard for himself.
"He was very honest and helpful and understanding (of our situation)," said Timoff.
Since that time, both Timoff and neighbor Pat Anderson have been in correspondence with Deputy City Manager Stephanie Hicks from the city about the Andersen Ranch Property.
According to Carson City Municipal Codes, public nuisances are outlined very clearly.
Under code 08.08.070 regarding public nuisances it states that any of the following conditions are a nuisance per se and constitute conditions which annoy, injure or endanger the safety, health or welfare of any considerable number of persons, which includes section 5:
"Property, buildings, structures or premises which contain debris, garbage, hazardous waste, a health hazard, an imminent danger, an incipient hazard, infestation, litter, rubble or overgrown vegetation that constitute a blight to an adjoining property, the neighborhood or the city, or a health, safety or fire hazard;"
Section 11 also states:
"Any other condition which, in the judgment of the enforcement official, creates a blight to an adjoining property, the neighborhood or the city, or a health, safety or fire hazard under the conditions set forth in the International Fire Code, International Building Code, International Property Maintenance Code, Carson City Solid Waste Management Code, or any other Carson City Municipal Code or the Nevada Revised Statutes. (Reference NRS 40.140, NRS 202.450);"
On Monday, Oct. 7, in an email sent to Timoff, Hicks said: "Contact was made with the Andersens on Friday to advise them of the need to clean up the rest of the pasture. They seemed receptive and are looking into options. However, we advised that they will also be receiving the Notice of Violation in the mail which states that they must remove or cut down the weeds that may result in tumbleweeds blowing onto adjacent properties or public rights-of-way. Any future event in which weeds blow onto adjacent properties or the public right-of-way and create a nuisance may result in the issuance of a misdemeanor citation."
As of Saturday, Oct. 19 however, following a windstorm which once again covered Timoff's backyard, a citation had yet to be sent to the Andersen's for failure to comply.
On Oct. 2, following Giomi's visit to Timoff's residence, the Andersens did clean up their fence line, which acted a sort of makeshift ramp for the other tumbleweeds to fly over the property's fences. However, according to Timoff, the Andersens have yet to clean up the rest of the property, which caused the fence line to quickly be overtaken during this last storm.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Pat Anderson spoke with Hicks regarding what he and the other Andersen-adjacent properties were to do if Andersen Ranch refused to comply with the city.
"I personally refuse to allow (the weeds) to stockpile in my backyard and potentially become the source of a fire, endangering my property and life, as well as my neighbors," said Pat in his email to Hicks. "Does the City have a plan in place to return the roll-off drop boxes to Mountain Street so I may discard of this material properly, or am I left to move it out to the street for disbursement by the wind? This is not my preference, but I will not incur significant expenses handling this material in the hope the Andersen’s reimburse me. I also have no interest potentially having to take them to small claims court to recover damages."
Hicks replied the same day:
"Our Community Development Department Director spoke to the Andersons and has also sent to them a Notice of Violation advising that weeds from the property have been documented to be overgrown, and large volumes of the vegetation have blown into adjacent residential yards and onto the public streets, thereby creating a blight to adjoining properties and the neighborhood, and creating a safety hazard within the public streets."
"The required action is remove or cut down the weeds," she continued. "However, if they do not and any future event blows weed onto adjacent property owners or the public right-of-way which creates a nuisance, the City would now be able to issue a misdemeanor citation. So please do advise of whether this is an issue after the next wind storm so that we can take additional steps. The violation notice is a legal process which takes time; however, we hope it will get us to some resolution."
After the yards of Timoff and the Andersons were overrun again, they messaged Hicks and asked the city file an immediate citation. Hicks told the neighbors that while they could file a citation, it wouldn't solve all their problems.
"We could issue a citation but that won’t clean up the weeds," said Hicks. "It will set a court date two months from now and then the judge will decide what needs to be done, if anything."
She said the Andersens had asked to meet with the city to resolve the issue, but Pat and Timoff don't believe it is enough.
"The city has been aware of the issue since early August," said Pat. "There needs to be action, not more talk."
As for now, Carson City residents should use caution in the area of Mountain and Long Street where there are piles of tumbleweeds reported.
This is a developing story.
