KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Neighbors on North Wheeling Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, are sick of seeing trash in front of one home that has a long list of violations with the city.
Cobwebs, rusted cans and piles of clothes sit on a curb along the street, but it's not a garbage dump. It's the front yard of a two-story beige house with boards over the front door and the windows.
"It isn't fair to anybody else who has to live around it," Bryan Stalder said of the scene.
Stalder is president of the Indian Mound Neighborhood Association.
Last month, he snapped a picture of the clutter and reported it to the city.
"It grows mold; it attracts vermin," he said of the trash.
The latest pile isn't the only violation for the house.
A search of KCMO 311 records shows issues dating back to 2010.
One update from October 2015 reads, "people are living at this address with no utilities. There are about 5-6 people who sleep at this address."
Property records show Eddie Joe Veasey has owned the house since January 2011 and has delinquent taxes dating back to 2014.
Veasey could not be reached for comment, but 41 Action News spoke with his brother, who said Veasey lives in the house on North Wheeling Avenue despite the fact that city officials deemed it a dangerous building and boarded up the property.
A sign posted on the front door even warns that anyone found inside is subject to arrest.
Veasey's brother also said they're working together to get rid of the trash and fix up the house. Whether or not he'll be able to stay remains to be seen.
For now, Stalder is looking ahead to his group's annual fall cleanup on Oct. 13, which aims to clean up other sites like the house on Wheeling.
"You can bring any trash you have in your backyard, in your basement, on your front porch if you're getting code violations on open storage," he said. "... That's your opportunity to get rid of it."
The Indian Mound Neighborhood Association also has another option for dealing with blighted homes.
Through the Urban Homesteading program, the group works with Legal Aid of Western Missouri to acquire deeds for abandoned houses and identify people willing to restore and live in the homes for at least two years.
