Neighbors waiting for "Shingle Mountain" in Dallas to come down will have to wait longer.
A judge originally set a July 10 deadline to clean up massive piles of old roofing material along South Central Expressway, but is giving the recycling company more time to comply.
Judge Gena Slaughter took the unusual step of arranging an on-site inspection Tuesday morning at Blue Star Recycling. Slaughter said she wanted to see if Blue Star Recycling owner Carl Orrell was doing enough to comply with her order to clean up the property.
After nearly an hour on the site, Slaughter held a hearing over the city of Dallas' motion to hold Orrell in contempt of court for doing too little to remove the mountain.
In court on Tuesday, Orrell told Slaughter he is a disabled veteran who is running the recycling facility on his own. He said he needed more time and money to clean up the property.
"While Blue Star is not in compliance with the temporary injunction, I think steps have been taken," Slaughter said in court.
"This is a very frustrating situation for everyone, for the city of Dallas, for the neighbors, for the court, because I don't have a magic wand," Slaughter added. "The city of Dallas doesn't have a magic wand, we have to follow the laws and the rules of our legal system, our justice system and I can't order anything that would make it fixed soon, fast, tomorrow."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Marsha Jackson fought back tears outside the courtroom. She lives next door to the site and has complained about the piles of roofing materials that began to grow and loom next to her property more than a year ago.
Jackson has lived in her home for 24 years and said it was peaceful and rural before the recycling facility began to take in and pile up roofing materials.
"You come in our neighborhood and trash it and junk it up and bring all this hazardous stuff in here and nothing's being done," Jackson said. "Take our life seriously."
She said black dust from ground up shingles blows onto her property. She worries about her daughter and 11-year-old granddaughter who live with her.
"I'm not being a hard person, but this is our health that's involved," she said.
Dallas City Councilmember Tennell Atkins, who represents the neighborhood, said he looked into whether the city could help move the materials and recover the costs from the company later.
"It's our obligation to find what means are necessary, what assets we've got to bring to do it," Atkins said. "It's in the city of Dallas, it's unsafe."
Slaughter asked for a status update on the clean-up in 60 days. She told the court she may do another in-person inspection. The owner of the recycling facility is expected back in court in 120 days.
