ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando pastor has been in a battle with code enforcement over trash that a homeless woman leaves behind.
Pastor Macey Williams of the Faith Temple of Christ Church said the homeless woman leaves trash near his property every day and he keeps getting fined for it.
Williams said he's been doing everything he can to keep the property clean.
"She goes over to Auto Zone and gets those bins and throw them all over the yard; paper, eggs, cake, everything," said Williams.
Williams said for the last several years, the woman has scattered trash near the property on Church Street. Technically, it's the easement which is owned by the city. But under city code, owners have to maintain the easement, which means her trash becomes his problem.
"I got a little angry. It's terrible. Six years I've been cleaning this property up because of this homeless lady," Williams said.
In 2013, after someone reported a mess to code enforcement, the church was fined for mattresses and shopping carts the woman left.
Williams said he just received another fine.
"I can't stop her," he said.
Williams recently sat down with Commissioner Regina Hill and code enforcement about the problem and fines. The city said it's considering adding the easement to his property so he has control over it. But, Williams would still get the fines and he isn't sure how to keep her off the land.
"She says, 'It's God's property,'" he said.
So now, every morning, Williams has to go to the church to clean up to keep the fines from racking up.