A property in east Harris County is causing significant concern for residents who say it’s overrun with trash, and rodents and has become the site of a homeless encampment.
Neighbors told KPRC 2 that the property located near the intersection of Freeport and Corpus Christi Street in Cloverleaf has been a problem for years.
Leslie Umana, who has lived next door for a couple of years, shared her experiences. “On a daily basis, we hear screaming at night, yelling, sometimes gunshots going off, and a lot of commotion,” she said. “It has gotten worse over time with the garbage piling up in front.”
Honesty Shannon also expressed her concerns. Shannon mentioned catching nine rats in a week, despite having two cats.
In response to the situation, Harris County Public Health and the office of Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia visited the property.
Scott Jeansonne, director of Environmental Public Health for Harris County, told KPRC 2, “We’ve been actively working on it. We actually have it slated to go to Harris County Commissioners Court at the end of this month to get approval to move forward with the abatement.”
The abatement program, if approved, will involve various actions such as picking up trash, demolishing structures, or cutting overgrown grass. The process involves coordinating with vendors to execute the cleanup.
In a statement Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said:
“Unsafe properties put our communities at risk. That’s why I made it a priority to expand our county Nuisance Abatement Program. The funds my office pushed for allows public health to go through the legal system to remove dangerous properties that threaten public safety. We are in the process of addressing this nuisance property to get the property fixed or removed as quickly as the legal process allows. We ask residents to report nuisance properties to 3-1-1 so that this sometimes lengthy process can move forward. Precinct 2 is committed to providing the support and resources needed to keep our neighborhoods safe and improve the places we call home.”
Harris County Public Health plans to present the issue to the Commissioners Court on March 27.
If approved, the property will be scheduled for abatement shortly after.
