Can the City Do Anything About Newspaper Litter?

If you receive unwanted emails, you have the option of directing them to your spam folder. There appears to be no relief, however, for unwanted newspapers.

The issue is transcendent, really—as pervasive in Batavia or Geneva as it is anywhere else.

But it was brought up Monday night to the St. Charles City Council Government Operations Committee in response to complaints from some residents about newspapers they have not subscribed to, as well as other periodicals, being delivered to their properties — and particularly at homes left vacant by foreclosures, where the unwanted items pile up as debris.

St. Charles Alderwoman Maureen Lewis, 5th Ward, told her fellow council members she has been working with a resident on the issue since September. Lewis said the resident, who was working Monday night and could not be at the committee meeting, has taken issue with the unwanted delivery of TribLocal in the Harvest Hills area.

But, Lewis said, the issue is not unique to the 5th Ward—or to TribLocal, for that matter. City Administrator Brian Townsend said the issue involves the delivery of other newspapers, fliers and handbills, as well.

“It’s frustrating now — snow melts, and reveals accumulation of all these newspapers in driveways, particularly at foreclosed homes,” Lewis said.

Some newspapers are free and circulated at no charge for "total market coverage" that some advertisers see as a benefit. For paid publications, delivering products to people who do not subscribe is a marketing tactic: Newspapers or other periodicals are delivered for several days or more at a time to a home — whether in the yard, on a driveway apron, or on a treebank or sidewalk — as if the residents are regular subscribers.

But from time to time, the practice draws criticism from residents who view the unwanted papers as debris or garbage that litters their properties.

Townsend said Monday night these complaints often increase in the spring as snow melts, revealing a winter’s worth of accumulated papers in front of homes. While many residents simply pick up the papers and dispose of them, in recent years, foreclosures have left more and more homes vacant — and more papers are left littering those properties.

Amid aldermen’s questions about what kind of ordinance the city might pass to address the issue, St. Charles City Attorney Gerald Gorski said there is little cities and towns can do to stop the practice without impinging on free speech rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

“The 1st Amendment,” he told aldermen, “trumps everything.”

Gorski told the council past attempts by communities to regulate the deliver of newspapers and handbills have been tossed out by the courts.

The only effective means to deal with the issue, he said, may be to direct residents to pursue trespass law. Residents would have to notify the paper in writing that he/she does not want the papers or handbills on his or her property.

Even that course of action has drawbacks, Gorski said in response to a comment by 1st Ward Alderman Dan Stellato.

The property owner would have no recourse, Gorski said, if the paper is left within the public right of way — the treebank, driveway apron or public sidewalk.

Gorski added that he has talked with a lot of attorneys about the issue, which has been raised “in every town in the area. There’s not a lot the city can do. … Your frustration is shared by virtually every community around here.”

Have you run into similar situations at your home? Let us know in the comments field!