Kingsbury community reporting unauthorized trash bin use

Bears aren't the only ones raiding trash bins in Douglas County. One upper Kingsbury community has initiated a crackdown on people who dump their trash in their bins.

Using a variety of means including surveillance and enhanced "watch" programs, the Summit Village Homeowners Association has begun to actively pursue and prosecute any non-Summit Village resident using the community's private trash containers.

"Non-residents sneaking in to use our dumpsters has always been illegal, but, in the face of rising costs, we've redoubled efforts to chase down any illegal dumpers," said David Lewis of the Summit Village board of directors. "Anyone using our dumpsters -- since we have abundant signage warning of the violation of the law -- should not have any question that they're breaking the law. These people can expect to answer to the Douglas County Sheriffs Office. Some already have."

Lewis points out that the Summit Village Homeowners Association, which has been hit with rising costs from many sources, has worked diligently to keep dues increases at acceptable levels. "It affects homeowners - and dues increases are generally are passed along from landlords to renters which result in higher rental rates around the area. Part of the irony is that Summit Village is one of the last affordable rental areas in the Lake Tahoe Basin," said Lewis.

Other homeowner associations may be forced into similar measures. While much of the illegal use of the dumpsters comes from the Lake Tahoe area, some offenders come from the Carson Valley. Unlike the South Shore's California-side, Douglas County does not mandate trash pick-up for residents; therefore, some people on the Nevada-side have declined to sign-up for scheduled refuse collection service. This brings about a dilemma for some residents when it comes time to dispose of their trash. Exacerbating the problem is that, in order to quickly dump their trash in Summit Village dumpsters, offenders often throw trash outside of the bin. In turn, bears are drawn to the area, which creates an additional problem. "We want the bears to peacefully coexist with people here in area around Summit Village," said Vince Travens, of the Summit Village board of directors. "Locals know feeding bears is the worst thing you can do for the safety of the bears - and really for people, too."

Summit Village is a planned unit development comprised of 311 developed sites, and is led by a 5-member board of directors.