Manassas Journal Messenger | County cites man for cluttered lot

County officials have cited a property owner in Triangle for illegally storing construction materials on a less than half-acre lot just off U.S. 1.

Storing piles of metal poles, dirt, rocks and scaffolding, as well as a roll-off dumpster full of trash, are not permitted uses, although these items were being stored on the Triangle Street lot, said Sean Farrell, manager of property code enforcement for Prince William County.

The property, owned by Alireza Farchtchi, is zoned general business with zoning approval for auto repair, according to Farrell.

“I don’t want to give the impression that it’s a refuse dump,” said Farrell, who said that the county public works office regularly cites property owners who do not comply with zoning laws.

Earlier this year, the county health department inspected the lot, but found no violation of health code, said John Meehan, environmental health manager.

“There was nothing causing disease or rodents or giving harborage to rodents,” Meehan said.

The property does not likely fit the description of a blighted property, added Farrell, a member of the Spot Blight Program Task Force.

It’s just an example of a property that doesn’t comply with its zoning designation, he said.

The county issued a violation notice and correction order, but the property wasn’t cleaned up soon enough for zoning officials.

“We’re currently initiating legal action,” said Farrell. “It is current policy that we issue a notice. We give an abatement period, then if we don’t receive compliance, then it is protocol for us to initiate legal action.”

He said the paperwork should hit the county attorney’s office sometime this week.

A message left for Farchtchi on Monday was not returned.

A neighbor brought the property’s illegal dump to the county’s attention in the spring.

County Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan, R-Dumfries, said she’s been trying to help clean up this and other properties in the U.S. 1 corridor.

“We have been frustrated in here in the office,” waiting for the property owner to pick up the construction materials, Caddigan said. “We’re trying to clean up Triangle and we have a few violations in that area.”

Caddigan mentioned last week the dumping problem on the Triangle lot to the County Executive Craig Gerhart.

Public works director Bob Wilson said the property owner “appears to have cleaned it up” on Monday, although piles of metal crates remained on the lot near Triangle Street Monday afternoon.

“I know they are business people and I support small business, but they have to comply with the zoning rules,” said Caddigan.

Farrell said that in 1992, the owner received zoning approval for the auto repair business, but added that it was unclear if the three-year permit had been renewed.