Lofts Declines to Comment, Won’t Face Citation From Resident Complaints
Representatives from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and various local law enforcement agencies decided not issue citations to a Tuscaloosa apartment complex after resident complaints of mishandled garbage.
Stephanie Taylor, a spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa Police Department, said officials from ADPH, Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue Fire Marshall's office, Code Enforcement division of the city's Office of Urban Development, Building Inspector's office, Revenue Department and TPD's Vice Unit were all on hand at The Lofts at City Center Wednesday following up on residents' claims of trash in the property's hallways.
Though several citations had been written for the same issue previously, a Wednesday inspection showed the trash concerns had been addressed, TPD Vice Unit Captain Phillip Simpson said.
Complaints include, but are not limited to:
- Mishandled trash collection/Garbage in walkways
- Lack of maintenance
- Insect and rodent sightings
- Possible fire hazards
- Possible code violations
"If you take it together as a whole, I'd consider it a major violation," Simpson said.
"If you look at each individual one of them, they're probably all minor in the grand scheme of things. But when you put it in one apartment complex and you put it all together it adds up to lowering the quality of life for the residents who have come here and are spending their hard-earned money for a place to live."
A Lofts associate said there's no comment on the situation and asked Thread staff to leave the property upon visiting Wednesday afternoon.