HOUSTON – Some residents in northwest Houston feel that they have traded one eyesore for another.
When a vacant apartment complex was torn down on Holly View Drive about a year ago, it lead to a dumping ground for garbage. According to residents, the area has turned into haven for vermin and a magnet for trash.
"We try not to come out at night time. It's scary because you don't know who's back here hiding, but most of all we're worried about the critters that come here, too," resident Angelina Davis said.
According to Davis and the manager at the Park at Live Oak Apartments on Holly View Drive, calls to the city's 311 hotline have fallen on deaf ears.
"We have done so much since August of 2009, and the city has done so much on the street with the other apartment communities to make it look nice," apartment manager Kathy West said.
The two apartment complexes near the eyesore garage dump are now splitting the cost of mowing the grass and cleaning up the trash.
According to the city, the department of neighborhoods received three registered complaints about the garbage dating back to July 2011.
A new notice to clean up the trash dumped on the property was issued to the property owner in California after KPRC Local 2 started making calls to the city.
"I want it cleaned up. Clean up the field, cut down the trees and make it beautiful, like our street is," said Davis.
According to the city, the property owner has 10 days to comply. If the owner does not comply, the city said it will issue a citation.