Every neighborhood seems to have at least one of those houses, where the lawn is overgrown, or worse, it looks like a junkyard. The county and most homeowners’ associations have rules and ordinances to make sure people keep up their home’s appearance. And while the system works, don’t expect it to happen overnight.
“It doesn’t take a long time for a neighborhood to slip. It takes a very long time for a neighborhood to turn around,” says Deb Legge, Neighborhood Inspection Administrator with the Sedgwick County Metro Area Building and Construction Department.
When a home gets bad, there’s a good chance Deb Legge or one of her 16 inspectors will make a call.
They inspect nuisance calls. These are homes violating trash and tall grass codes.
“We have so many complaints this time of year…especially when it keeps raining, grass keeps growing,” explains Legge.
On average, 1500 homes are reported for unkept yards. One-thousand homes need repair or to be torn down. But the largest number of reports, 2,000 are for trash and junk.
(Read more: KAKE – News)