THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170454
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Rodney D. Meyer's lawyer says Meyer is on a one-man crusade to fix up Ocean View, buying dilapidated houses and using recycled materials to provide lodging for decent families.
``He's attempting to clean up the neighborhood,'' said Clay Macon.
Meyer admits he stores building materials, including cinder blocks, bricks, shingles and railroad ties, in his yard and at other properties he owns.
But the city has another view: Health Department officials claim he's collecting junk, and in doing so, violating the city's nuisance ordinance.
They think Meyer is a blight on the neighborhood, hindering their cleanup efforts in Ocean View.
A General District Court judge found Meyer guilty Wednesday and convicted him of accumulating junk and collecting water where mosquitoes can breed. Meyer was fined $125.
The charges stem from violations inspectors found on rental property Meyer owns in the 9500 and 9600 blocks of 8th Bay Street.
``I think there's ample evidence that there's more material there than building material,'' substitute Judge Terry Huffman said. ``It's junk.''
A Health Department official testified that at one site, officials found an old lamp, discarded cans and plastic bags, an unlicensed two-wheel trailer - with four engines loosely covered by a tarp holding puddles of water - a heater filled with water, barbed wire, a broken door and the walls of a shed.
Last month, city officials broke through Meyer's six-foot fence and towed away the two-wheel trailer. Earlier, they also towed his 1976 blue Fiat sports car from another site.
Meyer, a 37-year-old commercial diver, said the building materials and other supplies that inspectors found were going to be used to finish renovation work on the homes he owns.
``A lot of these old houses have a certain charm about them,'' Meyer said, proudly citing his trademark use of cedar and tile. ``I am in the middle of rehabilitating the property.''
``I'm not a slumlord,'' said Meyer, who has adopted a street to help clean up his neighborhood. ``I care about my tenants.''
Meyer, who said that he is a victim of ``selective enforcement,'' owns seven properties and has 11 tenants in Ocean View.
``It's the government running our lives and telling us what to do,'' he said. ``It's getting nit-picky. . . . I'm trying to improve the neighborhood and they're cutting me down.''
So far, city health inspectors have charged Meyer with a total of nine counts of violating the city's nuisance ordinance. He is appealing convictions for having stagnant water in a birdbath; keeping an uncovered pool filled with frogs, fish and turtles; keeping bricks, spare tires, metal tubing, and other recycled material on the side of his Ocean View home; and for storing cinder blocks and lumber at another site.
``Rome was not built overnight,'' said Meyer. ``It takes a long time to do something and to do it right.''
Meyer said he has tried to clean up some of the properties, but he is a one-man operation. In some cases, he has worked painstakingly to ensure that his materials are neatly stacked, covered and off the ground to avoid harboring rats.
``This is not the Communist State of Virginia,'' Meyer said. ``It's the Commonwealth of Virginia.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Last month, city officials broke through a fence at one of Rodney D.
Meyer's rental properties and towed away a trailer.
by CNB