MT. VERNON — Some residents of Rose Lane are asking why their belongings were removed from their porches late last week.

The Mt. Vernon Housing Authority Executive Director Gloria Williams says it’s a guideline in each lease signed, and they are looking to enforce a policy that hasn’t been enforced as well under previous leadership.

In a lease sent to WMIX / WDML, one guideline says that “residents shall not place in the unit or on the development property any furniture, plants, animals, or any other things that harbor insects, rodents, or other pests.” Williams says the guideline is included to help the housing authority provide safe and clean housing. You can see the copy of the lease by clicking here.

Sue Wilson is a caretaker for multiple residents at Rose Lane. She says her clients feel violated by their personal belongings being taken from them. She is fighting for the residents to get their belongings back.

Williams says residents were given over two months notice to get the items off of their porches. She provided WMIX / WDML with letters sent in January and February to remind residents of the policy. Williams says housing authority staff also walked door-to-door to give a final warning to remove items from their porch at the end of last week. Following those notices, items left on porches were removed prior to the physical inspection on March 19. You can see the copy of the letters sent to residents by clicking here.

Williams says items removed from the porches are in storage and will be available for those residents to retrieve soon.

Wilson says picking up the items will be no easy task for some residents, as they are elderly or disabled and are homebound.

Williams says the housing authority is not trying to cause hardships for residents, but they are trying to put in new policies so safety and quality guidelines can be enforced going forward.