Neighbors who complained about the stench of dog waste in a Glen Ellyn woman’s yard say the woman retaliated against their complaints in a colorful way — by painting a wall of her home bright purple, orange and yellow. NBC 5’s Katie Kim reports.
A dispute between neighbors in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn that was sparked by the stench of dog waste in a yard took an unusual turn when one of the parties involved retaliated by painting the side of her home in bright colors.
Neighbors in the 400 block of Longfellow Avenue in Glen Ellyn began complaining about the number of dogs living in Julie Dombrowski's home earlier this summer. They also complained about the stench of dog waste, which they said Dombrowski was not picking up.
Dombrowski, 54, was issued a citation on July 24 for exceeding the maximum number of pets. She owns four pets, but village code only allows three.
Dombrowski received the citation after neighbors complained to police. One day later, someone began painting the siding of the home in bright colors on just one wall. The rest of the home remains white.
Neighbors say the paint job was done in retaliation to their complaints.
"Just a finger in the air, that's what it looked like, and basically that's what we've been told it was," Mary Beth Speer, a neighbor, said.
The Glen Ellyn planning and development office has since received complaints from neighbors about the color of the home, but village officials say Dombrowski is not violating any codes with the paint job because there are no regulations of colors to single-family homes.
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Environmental Health Services at the DuPage County Health Department also received complaints about dog waste in the yard. They conducted an inspection of the property on July 31 and issued a notice of violation to the owner, according to a spokesperson for the department. EHS gave the owner until Aug. 31 to clean up the dog waste.
Neighbors described the situation to NBC Chicago as "obnoxious" and "sad." They said this kind of conflict is not the norm among neighbors.
NBC Chicago attempted to reach out to Dombrowski but was unable to contact her.
