Construction abandonment, foreclosure leave no one to tend to them

NORTH PORT -- The weeds at 8101 Larrimore Ave. are so high, you can drive by and almost miss seeing the house. Grass runners spider across the driveway and you need a machete just to reach the front door.

The house appears to have been abandoned midway through construction, and now the weeds are reclaiming the ground.

North Port Property Standards Inspectors cited the owner for failing to keep the weeds trimmed, and last Thursday hit the property with a $50-a-day fine.

Across town, the home at 4341 Lagrange Ave. is much the same -- the only thing that distinguishes it is the abandoned Winn-Dixie shopping cart out front. But like the house on Larrimore, penalties are being racked up to the tune of $50 per day.

At least one of the homes -- the one on Lagrange -- is reportedly undergoing foreclosure. Construction Compliance Inc., a St. Petersburg builder, had been the contractor when it announced last January that it was suspending operations, leaving dozens or hundreds of prospective homeowners with unfinished houses whose legal status was in limbo. CCI abandoned dozens of homes in North Port.

The city would like to have the grass and weeds trimmed. Not only does it look bad, but it can harbor pests and vermin.

But it's not a simple matter of mowing down the overgrowth.

City Clerk Helen Raimbeau said during a Code Enforcement Board hearing last week that notices of the violations were sent by certified mail but no one signed and returned them. Notice was also posted on the front of the houses, she said.

The board voted to impose the daily fine, with one member, Phil Tompson, voting against.

"I'm concerned with what's in the grass," Tompson said. "Could there be rebar or debris hidden there? You can't take a mower there without knowing what you might hit." It could be hazardous to people and damage the equipment.

Further, the yards of many of these foreclosed or abandoned homes are not leveled. Dirt piles and heaps of scrap building materials litter the lots.

Several other homes in the city were abandoned because of foreclosure -- owners simply could not afford escalating mortgage payments and moved out of the houses, leaving the bank to pick up the pieces. In one case, a former owner abandoned an unwanted car. In another, residents left behind a 5-foot snake in an aquarium on the front porch.

Because there are so many homes in similar situations, the city will hold a special workshop at 1 p.m. Tuesday to discuss possible remedies.

Other code issues the commission will tackle include:

* size of accessory structures on residentially zoned land;

* size of house numbers on the home and/or on the mailbox;

* permitting and inspection of above-ground pools.

If you go:

North Port Commission

Workshop on code enforcement issues:

* accessory structures on residential lots

* size of house numbers on house or mailbox

* permitting of above-ground pools and small sheds

* abandoned homes under construction

1 p.m.

Commission Chambers, City Hall

4970 City Hall Blvd.

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