SAN DIEGO — "That's not our problem,"
That's what one local woman says has been the response from the City of San Diego and the California Department of Transportation or CalTrans when she called about an illegal dumpsite in Tierrasanta.
While the two government offices hash it out Jennifer Schultz said the trash just keeps piling up.
"If you look back in here there's the old, discarded road sign,” Jennifer Schultz said. “It's just that somebody decides to throw it in there because they're tired of looking at it."
Schultz warned that’s not 'OK.' She’s been reporting trash at the north end of Santo Road and California State Route 52 for years.
"I'd say for the past 15 years or so is when I noticed the dumping out here," she said.
Recently, Schultz shared, it’s gotten worse.
“I think [I've seen] this really extreme stuff, for the past three years or so," Schultz said, pointing at mounds of roofing equipment. “This has been here forever. I'd say at least 10 years. It's just a little tar paper and asphalt from a roof."
Schultz said CalTrans used to come and maintain the area.
"Because this is CalTrans property and in the past, they've responded wonderfully. Perhaps with the COVID thing and all of the issues with the budget, the response has just become less and less. They finally sent me a message that said, 'Sorry, we don't do that. It's up to the city,'" she said.
In November 2021, Schultz got a message from the City of San Diego saying it was Caltrans’ job.
While the city and Caltrans point the finger of responsibility at each other, Schultz said the trash just keeps coming. She thought about cleaning it up herself with a team of volunteers.
"The bottles of liquid,” Schultz points out. “You really have no idea what's in there and you don't want to mess with that,"
So now she and her neighbors wait for more trash to pile up or for someone to do something about it. Schultz said she hopes there’s a resolution soon.
"Somebody has to take responsibility. But once it gets cleaned up, I think we need a fence. A nice tall fence would definitely be a deterrent," she said.
CBS 8 reached out to the City of San Diego and CalTrans to find out whose responsibility it is to clean up the site. The city responded to us saying the area falls under CalTrans jurisdiction. As of Wednesday night, CalTrans had not responded.
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