The trash-strewn property is sandwiched between two large, multimillion-dollar mansions, and residents are concerned the mounds could negatively affect property values in the area.
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A mountain of putrid trash outside a home in Los Angeles has neighbors crying foul — and smelling it.
According to multiple news reports, the trash pile in the residential Fairfax neighborhood has grown to hundreds of garbage bags strewn about the front and back yards of a house on North Martel Avenue. Neighbors say the yard has been an issue since at least 2014, when the owners of the property were first fined by the city.
“It smells really bad, and I know who the guy is that owns it, and I feel bad for him because it’s a mental health problem,” one resident told ABC 7.
The house is sandwiched between two large, multimillion-dollar mansions, and some residents are concerned the mounds could negatively affect property values in the area.
Screenshot: KNBC
“That house will probably fetch you close to $2 million,” Quincy Anderson told KNBC. “That’s quite a bit of money to be turning into a junkyard.”
The house has fielded more than a dozen complaints since last July alone, according to the Los Angeles Times, and the city issued an order to comply in November, but compliance does not appear to be anywhere in sight.
The yard’s state has fluctuated over the years, according to neighbors interviewed by the Times. The city first ordered the homeowner to clean out his yard in 2014, then filed misdemeanor criminal charges three years later when he declined to do so. Those were later dismissed.
Around that time, the yard’s condition began to noticeably improve, according to Jonathan Fromen, a developer who built the home next door and told the Times he was friendly with the homeowner.
Screenshot: KNBC
Over the past two years though, the rubbish has begun to pile up again, reaching the high point where it now sits.
City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky who represents the area, said she is working with the City Attorney’s office to see if any immediate action can be taken.
“I am aware of the situation at the home near Martel and Melrose Ave., and have directed my team to work with the appropriate City and County Departments to resolve the issue with urgency,” she wrote in a public statement. “Private property owners have a responsibility to maintain public health standards, and we will make sure those laws are upheld.”