SW Redmond residents upset over hoarder home

Some people in southwest Redmond are upset at their neighbor, and the city as well. They said a woman has been hoarding items at her home for years and city officials are not doing enough to solve the problem.

NewsChannel 21 went to the house on Southwest 30th Court Monday to get a firsthand look at why the homeowner has received 22 citations since 2017.

Debris covers the driveway and a truck bed out front. Trash, along with a strong stench of cat feces, fills the backyard. Old newspapers are scattered across the ground. According to neighbors, at least 13 cats are abandoned on the property.

Next-door neighbor Stuart Griffith said it’s looked this way since he moved in around 2009. A few neighbors said the problem has only gotten worse, citing one main issue.

” When the wind is from the west, which it often is , the smell in my backyard is very unpleasant, ” Griffith said.

” It smells terrible, ” said Ashley Hauck , the other next-door neighbor. ” We can’t really enjoy our backyard or have guests over without having to deal with the smell. ”

” There’s been a terrible smell in the neighborhood, ” said Kari Sieler , who lives across the street. ” The cats that live in the neighborhood have been out and about in everyone else’s yards. It just seems like this shouldn’t be happening in a city situation. ” ”

One neighbor set up five bowls in his driveway to feed the abandoned cats.

Jacob Smith, the city of Redmond’s code compliance officer, said he’s sent several notices to the property owner asking them to clean up, but has not seen any visible changes.

” Obviously, in light of the condition of the property, you can see the city has not achieved the desired results we need, ” said John Roberts, Redmond’s deputy city manager. ” It has become one of our more challenging code compliance cases to deal with. ”

Smith said the property owner has only paid half of the 22 fines and still owes the city more than $5,000.

” We continue to work with our legal counsel to try to expedite the options we have, but every week it becomes more of a health, life and safety hazard, and we recognize that, ” Roberts said. ” So it’s in everybody’s interest that we get this addressed sooner than later. ”

Roberts said if the city cannot get the owner to comply through citations, it will typically request an abatement warrant to clean the house on its own. That cannot happen if the house is still occupied.

Roberts said it remains unclear if the property owner is still living there. Neighbors said no one has been living in the home since a fire burned the garage and second story in early March.

NewsChannel 21 contacted the property owner on Facebook Monday and asked for a comment, but has not yet heard back.