By Mike Finney

DOVER — A car that has been abandoned just behind Christine Holmes’ home in the Stoney Creek development in south Dover is of great concern to her and her neighbors.

Since the car was parked and left there more than two months ago, the windows have been smashed out, the hood has been propped open and half the car is sitting on jacks, making it a dangerous situation with several children residing in the neighborhood.

“It attracts a lot of bad stuff,” Ms. Holmes said. “People go back there. They sit in it, they do drugs. It’s been there a couple of months. I don’t know how it ended up there.

“It’s an eyesore and what if I go and try to sell my place? They’re going to walk back there and see that and be like, ‘Well, what’s going on back here?’ It devalues our house.”

That is one of the reasons why Dover City Councilman Brian Lewis, of the Second District, is exploring the issue of towing abandoned vehicles in the city, which he said has ballooned into a greater issue than most people realize.

“This car has been out here since way before March 15 and I got some complaints from neighbors and constituents,” Councilman Lewis said. “A neighbor (Ms. Holmes) said this is a common practice for them to abandon cars back here and it brings down the property value.

“I don’t know if this is a stolen vehicle, but as you can see, it’s an eyesore in the community. This isn’t the only one. They’re throughout the city of Dover.”

The councilman said his concern is that city staff and the Dover Police Department do not appear to be addressing the issue.

Mr. Lewis said he is working with Rep. William Bush, D-Dover, on potentially expanding House Bill 352 regarding abandoned vehicles that is sponsored in the Delaware General Assembly by Sen. Franklin Cooke, D-New Castle.

Sen. Cooke’s bill aims to amend Title 21 of the Delaware Code relating to enforcement and removal of abandoned vehicles. It would allow county code enforcement constables the authority to tow abandoned vehicles on private property.

The bill is awaiting consideration in committee.

“Basically, what the bill does, is it gives the code enforcement officers in New Castle County authority to have the vehicles towed when they go out to inspect properties,” Councilman Lewis said. “Right now, the city of Dover’s code enforcement officers are not allowed to have the vehicles towed. It’s the duty of the police.

“Initially, I was told by Code Enforcement that if it’s on private property, they can tow it. If it’s on public property, the police are responsible in getting it towed.”

However, since Mr. Lewis had that conversation with Dover Chief Code Enforcement Officer Eddie Kopp, he said he was told that the Dover Code Enforcement does not have the authority to tow any vehicles or allow them to be towed, because that falls under the jurisdiction of the Dover Police Department.

Dover police did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

Mr. Lewis would like to see an amendment put into House Bill 352 that would give city inspectors the authority to have abandoned vehicles towed.

“Our city inspectors are not constables. But if they were given the authority like county inspectors to have abandoned vehicles towed, this would help alleviate our problem in Dover,” he said.

“Currently, only the Dover police can have abandoned vehicles towed and this is not happening in a timely manner, which is unsafe to our citizens if the vehicle has fuel leaking, broken glass or sharp metal protruding out of the vehicle.”

Councilman Lewis said abandoned vehicles have become an increasingly prevalent problem throughout Dover.

“As a representative on City Council, I get calls not only from my district, but from other districts,” he said. “So, I inform these people to contact the police department and inform them. This vehicle (in Stoney Creek) has not only been sitting here for many months. Now you have the hood of the vehicle open, which it wasn’t open back on March 15 and people are stealing parts from it.”

When Mr. Lewis saw children’s bicycles in a yard adjacent to the abandoned car in Stoney Creek, he said that makes his concern even greater, considering one side of the vehicle is lifted up on a jack.

“Not only (are abandoned vehicles) a prevalent problem, but it’s a safety issue. Because as you can see with this vehicle, the windshield is busted,” he said. “It’s up in the air where if you had a little kid or kids, which there are in this neighborhood, they could get injured, and it could turn into a serious tragedy.”