Each Summerwood resident benefits from well-kept properties and the neighborhood as a whole continues to gain in value with responsible residents. The following resources can provide help and information.

The homeowner is responsible for keeping the City owned trees between the sidewalk and the curb trimmed to 8 feet. If you cannot trim the trees yourself, the City will come out and trim the tree limbs for you free of charge. Call the City of Columbus, Parks and Recreation, Division of Forestry at 645-3350 to schedule tree removal.

The homeowner is responsible for the replacement of both the sidewalk and/or driveway if the heaving of the slab or joint is greater than a 1/2 inch because of tripping hazards for bikes, strollers, walkers, and wheelchairs. If the driveway is cracked, broken, has deteriorated concrete and missing pieces or if your driveway has gravel showing, it must be replaced. Call Brad Whitt at 645-7497 with the City of Columbus Engineering and Construction Division to obtain a sidewalk and/or driveway replacement permit. Many sidewalks in Summerwood need replacement due to the tree roots pushing up the concrete slabs. After a permit has been obtained, you may call the Division of Forestry at 645-3350 to have the tree roots removed or in some cases the entire tree. All sidewalk and driveway replacements must be inspected by the City in order to receive the okay to pour concrete. Brad also takes confidential complaints from residents regarding sidewalks and driveways.

Code Enforcement

Code Enforcement is responsible for anything that “detracts from the residential character of the neighborhood”. The City of Columbus Code Enforcement Officer for the northwest is Bob Borowitz at 645-7934. Bob reports that the biggest code violations for the summer are high weeds, driveways, and boats, boats, and boats. A homeowner cannot park a boat, rv, camper, or commercial vehicle with a logo on it in their driveway, on the street, on the side of their home, or in their backyard. A homeowner cannot park an automobile on the grass. These vehicles must be inside the garage or behind the property set back line on a paved surface that the City has approved. Giving your neighbor the benefit of the doubt, if after 48 hours one of these vehicles has not been removed from the property, you can call Bob. If a boat or camper is on the street, call the police at their non-emergency number, 645-4545. It is imperative that emergency vehicles have access to the road.

City code states that garbage cans must be removed from the collection site after each collection day and that the homeowner is liable for replacement. The City will complete the dual container program at the end of this summer and hopefully the issue of determining where to store the extra can will be resolved. Do not leave garbage cans at the curb after the completion of weekly collection. For questions regarding collection dates, call the Refuse Division at 645-8774.

Home Improvement Tools Available

The City has a Mobile Tool Program that will lend home improvement tools and equipment free of charge in Columbus. The program provides more than 150 different types of hand and power tools for home repair, maintenance, landscaping, and painting. Tools are loaned for one week. Exterior painting equipment can be borrowed for up to two weeks. For information call 645-7440.

That dumping of any kind into storm sewers is illegal. Some residents have witnessed pet owners on walks throughout the subdivision dumping their dog’s waste into a nearby storm sewer. This invites the kind of rodents that none of us want and may cause build up in the sewer. Please take a few moments every so often to sweep or shovel out the street gutters in front of your home to maintain a clear stream to the storm sewer. Also, the City of Columbus is looking for volunteers to apply the “No Dumping, Drains to River” curb markers near storm drain inlets this summer. The markers are designed to remind residents that anything dumped into the storm drains flows into our streams and rivers untreated. The Division of Sewerage and Drainage will supply the disks, adhesive and instructions. You choose the area in which to place the markers. Summerwood residents with a storm drain in their front can call 645-2123 and apply the new curb markers free of charge.