Community Meets About Mess On Southside

POSTED: 10:50 pm EST February 14, 2012
UPDATED: 7:33 am EST February 15, 2012

PITTSBURGH -- Residents at a community meeting on the Southside Tuesday night said they're sick of revelers partying and leaving messes behind."You feel like you're a prisoner in your own house," said Southside resident Rob Frank. "Everybody that lives here can probably say the same thing."The homeowners said they don't want to pay for extra security and cleanup."I think the burden of this is being put on the wrong people," one resident said. "It shouldn't be put on the homeowners. I'm not the one peeing in front of my house at night. I'm not the one tearing the bushes out of my yard at night.""It's always scary to think about paying more money," said neighborhood outreach coordinator Susie Puskar. "Realistically, the city isn't going to be able to do any more for the Southside. The Southside has already achieved a certain level of success, and at this point, if people want to see more services, they need to be able to have that control themselves."The residents at the meeting came up with a plan of action called the Southside Improvement District.Property owners, both residential and commercial, would pay an annual fee to receive regular security, litter cleanup, power washing and other services.The fees would be based on the total assessed value of the properties, but they wouldn't be more than $480 annually for residential property owners. Copyright 2012 by WTAE. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Community Meets About Mess On Southside