Mecca resident struggles to curb illegal dumping on his property

Ed Luna, a longtime Mecca resident, says he’s struggling to keep illegal dumpers off his property.

Much of his property is filled with scattered mulch and pile. Luna says it's a headache to keep tabs on those who are dumping, at all hours of the day.

"People have taken advantage of the remoteness of this particular area," Luna said.

Luna's property is located on Lincoln Street near 67th Avenue. It's scattered with a combination of materials, the majority of it green waste.

"They see other dumping here so they take the liberty of dumping," Luna said.

The mulch is spread out on Luna’s property. It has a spongy consistency that could potentially smolder if caught on fire.

"So I’ve taken their truck numbers and picture of the drivers and sent emails to those companies," Luna said.

For the most part, Luna says the companies stop dumping when he asks them, but some come in when he’s not on watch.

Luna says after reporting it to the riverside County for years and he finally got a response in October. He says a few days later he received an ultimatum, giving him “x” amount of days to bring his land within compliance. Luna says he was caught off guard.

"They just want you to comply. It doesn’t matter. You’re in violation, fix it. It’s your responsibility. It’s not like well let’s sit down. Let’s look at the avenues of approach that we can take," Luna said.

In a statement, Riverside County Code Enforcement wrote, "Riverside County Code Enforcement is aware of the properties and is working with the property owners to clear up the land-use violations."

Meanwhile, a newly-formed task force featuring Cal Fire, Code Enforcement, local lawmakers. Officials say it’s ultimately up to the owner to keep their property in compliance.

"If they’ve been reporting this to the code enforcement or the county, then they need to be persistent and continue to have a dialogue with code enforcement officers. Sometimes the problem may seem that it’s something easy for the property owner but there are legal measures that need to be taken, there’s investigations that need to be followed through," said Cal Fire Captain Fernando Herrera.

Luna said he plans to work with a contractor to clear out the mulch. At the same time, he’s considering putting up a fence to deter any future illegal dumpers. Officials are asking anyone in the area to report if they see illegal dumping. If you see any illegal dumping, call 760-393-3344