NORWICH – After Norwich Fire Chief Jan Papelino noted an influx of code violations in the city at Monday evening's joint committees meeting, The Evening Sun takes a look at some common code violations that city residents might not know they're breaching.

Branches, brush, leaves, and twigs on the roadside

It is a code violation in the City of Norwich to leave branches, brush, leaves, and twigs on the roadside except for during designated pick-up periods in the spring and fall.

Instead, residents must hire someone to remove it from their property, or wait until the two-week designated pick-up time in the spring and fall. During the designated pick-up times, the items must be packaged in a clear bag with branches no longer than six feet. Additionally, each bag should be able to be reasonably carried by a single person.

Designated pick-up times will be advertised in The Evening Sun and on the City of Norwich Code Enforcement website.

Papelino said the fire department used to have a role for an off-shift person to pick up such items, which might have contributed to residents' perceptions that these items would be removed. But now that the role is no longer, residents should not be leaving bags of brush on the roadside.