Citrus Heights Dumpster Divers Force Apartment Owners into Action

Imagine taking out the garbage at night, only to discover someone lurking inside the dumpster.

For Oak Creek Village apartment residents, they don’t have to picture it. Such a scenario is a regular occurrence, according to Wendy Wood, owner of the complex on the 7700 block of Greenback Lane.

“We have drug addicts, (transients) and every imaginable scary person coming onto our private property and scaring the daylights out of our residents,” said Wood, in an initial e-mail to Patch. “The residents open the dumpsters to empty their garbage and two or three scary people are in the dumpsters.”

An uproar as to who is to blame for the so-called mall area 'dumpster divers' has reached Citrus Heights Police Department officials. But Wood and husband Gary Spohr, said in an interview Friday, March 15, that they plan to take matters into their own hands.

The couple plan to circulate a petition, beginning in April, calling for the city to relocate the nearby Liquor and Recycling Farmers Market. The apartment owners claim the store is the source for the unwelcome trespassers.

“He’s creating a nuisance,” said Wood of neighborhing owner, Jaswinder Rai. “He’s creating a criminal environment.”

Specifically, Wood and Spohr accuse Rai, of catering to a transient clientele who loiter and rummage through area garbages to retrieve recyclables. They say the dumpster divers sell recyclables to the market’s recycling center located in the rear of the liquor store.

In his defense, Rai said he can’t control the actions of his customers.

"I keep my area clean," said Rai. "And that's all I can do."

Rai, who said he has owned his Citrus Heights business at his current location for 22 years, said he feels harassed by the apartment owners.  

"I'm really upset," said Rai, who added Wood is e-mailing and texting him daily to complain. "Just tell me what I can do,” he said. “Tell me what I can do to help."

Both owners have called police to complain about the other.

Citrus Heights Lt. Ryan Kinnan, said police officers are aware of the nuisance and complaints from both parties. Owners of a nearby Swanson's Cleaners were unavailable for comment. 

Problem oriented police officers are in the “initial” stages of resolving the issue, according to Kinnan.

To combat the problem in the short-term, Citrus Heights Sgt. David Moranz said police have initiated nightly patrol checks at the complex's dumpsters. 

Kinnan said police are looking into confirming the source of the nuisance. Officers are working to identify all of the area’s stakeholders, and identify all potential contributing factors to the issue, he explained.

“Once we’ve identified all of those stakeholders and problems, we’ll push through with a game plan," he continued. 

Kinnan added the city does not have an ordinance outlawing people from scavenging in residents’ or business’ garbage cans or dumpsters. “I’m not sure right now if we need to go that route (yet),” Kinnan said.

City Mayor Steve Miller is confident the problem oriented policing unit will resolve the recent complaints form the Oak Creek Village apartment owners. "I believe we already have enough tools in our codes to properly deal with this issue," he said. 

Wood said she hopes for a solution soon. She claims to have lost at least a dozen tenants to the issue. She has hired security guards, installed lighting and runs a gated apartment complex.

“They have become aggressive and that’s not going to work,” said Wood. “You just can’t allow this thing to fester like this.”

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