Inquirer: Abandoned house and yard on Regina Drive pose peril for the grandkids

We had a Concerned Grandmother call last week about the safety of her grandchildren, and especially around Mother’s Day, you better listen to such people.

The problem is the house next door to hers on Regina Drive, which is off Old Cusseta Road. It’s a nice neighborhood, with most of the houses appearing to be well cared for. But not the one next door to our Concerned Reader. It’s a nice enough house up on a slight rise and except for the yard, it too looks cared for.

The yard, as you can see, is unkempt in the front, but it a total mess in the back, which is our friend’s concern.

“I have grandchildren who come to visit, and I can’t let them play in the back yard because of all the critters that might be running around over there,” she said.

She said she has called the city to complain and they came out once and took care of the mess, but they haven’t been back since, and it’s as bad as ever again.

She’s right. You can see how high the grass or weeds or whatever foliage is growing over there, and it does appear to be a haven for all kinds of varmints. Really, you could film a Tarzan movie back there.

And I’m sad to report that the owner isn’t about to do anything about it, because he can’t. According to city tax records and nexis.com, the man who owned the property died in 2012 at the age of 94. So, if he did indeed have heirs who inherited the property, they’re not interested enough in it to live there or even look after it’s upkeep.

Our friend said you can see that the house is still furnished, but that no one has lived there for several years.

So I called the city to see if I could get any information on the status of the house. Is anyone paying taxes on it? (It’s not under a homestead exemption.) If no one is paying taxes, is it nearing the old auction on the courthouse steps status? Regardless, are there any plans to send a crew out there and take care of what could be considered a health hazard (at least from the grandmother’s perspective)? Even beyond that, it is clearly in violation of the city’s ordinance regarding overgrown yards. (And if it’s not, they need a new ordinance.)

But I called on Friday, and didn’t have any luck getting the information I need. It was something like Employee Appreciation Day and they were having a huge cook-out/picnic on the plaza of the Government Center. (Government Cheeseburgers?)

So I’ll try again this week and let you, and our Concerned Grandmother, know what can be done.

Until then, Happy belated Mother’s Day, y’all.

This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Inquirer: Abandoned house and yard on Regina Drive pose peril for the grandkids ."