A house by Little Sackville River is nearly hidden by shrubs and bushes that have grown almost as tall as the house itself.
For nearby residents in the neighbourhood of Lower Sackville in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), the house has become a source of growing frustration.
They say the house has been vacant for nearly a decade.
Dee Hodgson has lived next door for 20 years and says the owner bought the place about 15 years ago.
“He said he was going to B.C. for three months and then he never came back,” she told Global News on Wednesday.
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Hodgson said she called HRM’s bylaw complaint line about the house twice a year for seven or eight years. She says after she each call contractors would come out and trim the grass in the front and back yards, but that’s it.
“I would like to see it cleaned up,” said Hodgson about the overgrowth.
Kayla Drake, another resident who lives near the home, says she also takes issue with the building.
“If they’re not going to fix it up and have somebody live there, I don’t understand why it’s just standing there,” she said.
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“Something could be there that could be useful instead of just an eyesore.”
But Drake’s concerns go beyond the property being an eyesore.
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She says with the front yard full of tall, overgrown shrubs, bushes and trees, it blocks the view of the sidewalk and road for drivers using the driveways on either side of the property.
“You can’t see when you’re going in or coming out when someone’s walking down their sidewalk,” Drake said. “There’s been 10 people who’ve almost been hit.”
She is also concerned that rats in the area are coming from the house.
Drake says in the nearly three years she’s lived in the area, rodents have been a major problem, running around both day and night and she’s concerned for the safety of her children when they play outside.
“I let them out at the far end of the home, as far away as I can keep them from it, but you can’t keep them inside. That wouldn’t be fair,” said Drake.
Drake has made numerous calls to pest control, which has placed traps around her and her neighbour’s homes. She said each time the exterminators come back the traps are full.
“They think they’re nesting in (that house) somehow,” she said.
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The municipality has no specific policy to deal directly with abandoned properties but they do have bylaws in regard to dangerous or unsightly properties.
“That can be any property where there may be garbage, long grass or any property that’s not being maintained,” said spokesperson Maggie-Jane Spray.
The HRM says that if residents have concerns about a specific property they are encouraged to call 311. Drake and Hodgson both say they’ve called 311 multiple times but not enough is being done.
According to the municipality, 16 complaints have been received about the property over nine years and a file has been opened.
Bylaw compliance officers are investigating but there are no details on what further action – if any – will be taken.
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