"Clyde" speaks out on nuisance ordinanace | Business

SALISBURY - Salisbury's new nuisance ordinance, passed by the city council on Tuesday afternoon, has drawn the ire of local artist and gadfly Clyde.

"If you have Yankee neighbors and they don't like anything, they'll be the first ones to complain about you," Clyde told Kent Bernhardt on Salisbury's Early Morning News on WSTP Radio. "It's a police state, you'll see them, and they'll write you letters that are not polite, they threaten you."

But city leaders say property owners in downtown Salisbury have been wanting this ordinance for years in order improved the appearance of downtown when it comes to things like overgrown grass, ripped awnings, and graffiti.

The particulars of the ordinance include property owners being given 15 days to trim grass that is too long.

• Graffiti on a building visible from a public right of way - remove within 30 days.

• Awnings that are more than 30 percent torn, tattered or missing - remove within 30 days.

• Broken windows and window frames that are more than 50 percent disfigured, cracked or peeling - fix within 60 days

• Leaky roofs that "endanger the integrity of the structure or adjoining properties" - fix within 60 days.

• Hazardous conditions that threaten public health, safety and welfare - immediately abate.

The rules apply only to the Municipal Service District, the special tax district in the heart of downtown.

Clyde admitted that the purpose beihind the ordinance is positive, but worries about how the rules will be enforced,

"It's for the good, but it's gone overboard, too much government," Clyde added.