Orlando Housing Authority removes debris from property near downtown Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Housing Authority is taking steps to stop the dumping of debris on its property near downtown Orlando.

Gerhard Spillmann bought a house in Orlando's historic Mills-South district last year and has been working to rehab the property inside and out.

"We're all trying to upgrade and take care of the property,” he said.

But his back deck, which overlooks the Reeves Terrace Apartments, which are managed by the Orlando Housing Authority, tells a different story.

“(It looks like) the city dump,” Spillman said.

He took photos showing workers dumping debris, and a closer look shows the size of the pile of branches, leaves and black plastic bags.

"And it's growing. And we've had rat problems, rodent problems,” Spillman said.

Channel 9's Ken Tyndall tried to contact the housing authority, and continued to call and email for the next several days.

The authority’s response read, in part, "OHA does not dump, nor tolerate the dumping of, construction, lawn or other debris on any of its properties."

That statement was issued through a public relations firm that represents the housing authority.

It also indicated some of the debris may have been dumped by others.

The statement went on to say, “Upon your inquiry, we immediately checked the area and removed what appeared to be landscaping debris. We also counseled the contractor for this breach of responsibility to ensure this does not happen in the future."

A truck later hauled away the debris and a fence was put up along South Street to try to stop anybody from dumping debris there in the future.

Cox Media Group