ORANGE, Calif. \u2014 Residents in Orange said the streets over the past few years have been getting dirtier and dirtier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Laura Taylor said she got sick of it and decided to organize a monthly cleanup team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe meet once a month, currently the third Saturday of every month, and we clean up all along the canal from Meets to Heim,\u201d said Taylor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They started cleaning the streets in January as part of the cities Adopt a Street Program<\/a>, and Taylor said her team has a year’s commitment.<\/p>\n When Taylor first came up with this idea, she said she wasn\u2019t sure how many people would get involved. Sometimes, she can see upwards of 24 volunteers all working for free to clean up the neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cSince they tore down JC Penny and the mall, things have gotten worse. There has been trash and a lot of debris from the landscaping not being taken care of,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Taylor doesn\u2019t mind cleaning up her community, she doesn\u2019t plan to do this volunteer work forever, so she took her concerns to the Orange City Council meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAside from being unsightly, these abandoned properties have sadly attracted homeless encampments, drug and prostitution activity, drinking in public, and human waste on the hardscape and landscaping,\u201d said Taylor during the June 23 Orange City Council meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor Dan Slater of the city of Orange said there has been an issue with vacant and abandoned properties for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n