A seemingly normal looking Simi Valley home is harboring what some neighbors fear are signs of hoarding and a potential health hazard.
Seen from above, the home in the 4400 block of Apricot Road contains what many people would call piles of junk, some of it covered by tents.
Neighbor Larry Miranda told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo that the property actually looked worse until recently.
“It looked like a junkyard in the front,” he explained. “It definitely could be a health hazard, and you can see that the house is a little run down.”
Another neighbor, Edgar Munoz, echoed the sentiment, saying the home has not been much of an eyesore lately but that he did notice a foul stench coming from the property several days back.
“There was some odor a couple of days ago. We just didn’t know where it was coming from,” Munoz said. “The wind was coming this way.”
Signs dot the man’s property, calling it a “trading post” or a “secondhand store,” and those who live nearby say the man does occasionally hold weekend yard sales.
“I don’t know where he’s getting [the stuff] from, but I know every day or every other day, his truck is full of stuff and he unloads it,” Miranda told KTLA. “I don’t know what he does with it. He does have yard sales on the weekend at times.”
Other community members who did not want to go on camera said they want the man to clean up his act, and that the city is aware of the issue and has been in contact with the resident.
In a statement to KTLA, city officials said:
“These types of cases can be complex and gaining compliance often takes time. Our Code Enforcement and Building and Safety teams are actively working through the appropriate legal and procedural steps to bring the property into compliance.”
Miranda believes that eventually the problem will be resolved.
“When the city gets involved, they’ll take care of it,” he said.
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