CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The city started collecting debris from the storm damage from two of Friday’s microburst-affected neighborhoods on Monday, and will collect storm vegetation curbside through Sunday, the city announced on Tuesday.
“It is based on the hardest hit areas in the City of Charlottesville,” Steven Hicks, City Director of Public Works, said to City Council Monday night.
The service through Sunday is for the Greenbrier and Locust Grove neighborhoods where what the National Weather Service determined was a microburst, with winds peaking at 90 m.p.h. between 5:33 p.m. and 5:42 p.m., on Friday brought down trees and power lines.
“It’s going to be seven days,” Hicks said. “Actually, it started today as we already had the sweepers out there, and also the residents are already bringing out debris. This is not a citywide debris collection program.”
The city will collect storm-related tree branches, limbs, and similar vegetative debris, according to its Tuesday morning announcement.
Brush must be no more than 10 feet long and no greater than six inches in diameter.
Residents are asked to place brush in a separate pile and avoid mixing with other debris. Debris should be placed neatly at the curb in front of the property where it was collected and cut ends should be in the same direction when possible.
The city has also asked that debris be kept clear of streets, sidewalks, gutters, drainage ditches, driveways, storm drains, fire hydrants, mailboxes, utility poles, parked vehicles, motorists’ sightlines, and overhead utility lines. It must be clean and cut vegetation.
The city will not collect household trash, furniture, appliances, construction or demolition materials, posts, boards, fencing, treated or dimensional lumber, other manufactured wood, chemicals or hazardous materials, whole trees, root balls, stumps, logs or trunk sections larger than six inches in diameter, loose leaves, grass clippings, routine yard waste, or other material unrelated to the recent storm.
“Just to clarify, a branch fell on my neighbor across the street’s property and it took out the fence, so it is storm debris,” Councilor Natalie Oschrin asked at Monday’s Council meeting. “But it’s also engineered wood, lumber and not debris, so if they wanted to get that fence dealt with their only option is a private contractor.”
Hicks clarified the cut up tree debris is eligible while the lumber is not.
“We take it to Paramount Farm, and then we also take depending on what it is to the GFL landfill, and they’ll grind it and potentially used if for mulch,” said Hicks. “That’s why it has to be clean.”
Debris generated by a paid contractor is not eligible for city collection. If a contractor cuts or trims trees, shrubs, or hedges, the contractor or property owner is responsible for removing and properly disposing of the resulting material.
Materials that do not qualify for this special collection should be handled through the City’s regular large-item pickup program, where eligible, or through another appropriate disposal service.
Residents with questions about the collection area or eligible debris may contact the Public Service Division at 434-970-3895.
