Neighbors Frustrated By Growing Piles Of Garbage At Run-Down House
CITRUS HEIGHTS (CBS13) — Neighbors on Wachtel Way in Citrus Heights keep complaining about a house that is increasingly looking like a garbage dump.
In a nice neighborhood in Citrus Heights, one house has gone downhill.
"It used to be a nice house, nice neighborhood," said neighbor Mitch Myers. "It's kind of odd, you know, to have this...in the middle of all this."
Other homes on the street look great, there's a flower bed right next door to the house where you'll find heaps of garbage and this spray-painted garage door.
It didn't always look this way. Neighbors say things started going downhill a couple of years ago.
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"It's sad, you know, I mean, I know the guy and he was all right for a long time and then he got involved in something... I don't know," Myers said.
Myers said the owner used to be a good neighbor, but as the writing on the garage indicates, he came with a series of medical issues. The writing on the garage says, "I survived stomach cancer..."
Neighbors said a steady stream of visitors started coming and going at all times of night. Myers said people were sleeping in a storage container in the backyard.
"I'd see them going in and out of that container out back during cold nights too. They were staying in it," Myers said.
This led neighbors to ask if these conditions are legal. The answer is no, it's not legal in Sacramento County.
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The county said, "It is a violation of the zoning code to have junk, garbage, and rubbish on the property whether screened from view or not."
Citrus Heights code enforcement said they have repeatedly fined the homeowner. Officials said the owner is now talking about putting the home up for sale, and city officials are encouraging him to do so.
"Something needs to be done. I figured they'd come in here by now and clean this stuff up...the city or somebody would because he's obviously not going to do it," Myers said.
If something like this happens on your street, the key to getting it cleaned up is to keep reporting it to the city. The more complaints the cities and counties get, the quicker they will take action to fix a neighborhood eyesore.
