Clean up yards!, neighbors urged

Disgusted by the trash and deterioriation of some properties in the Broyhill Crest neighborhood (near the intersection of Gallows Road and Columbia Pike), about a dozen residents have formed a group to patrol the area and notify people who violate the zoning code. “We’ve found things like cars parked on the grass, non-usable cars in driveways, and abandoned houses with yards not maintained,” says Bob Noe, chairman of the Neighbor to Neighbor program.

When he moved to the area in 1979, “it was a middle-class, white neighborhood,” Noe says. Since then, there’s been a “decline in how people keep their houses up and what they do for their yards.” Many people who bought houses at the top of the market in 2005 and 2006 couldn’t afford to maintain them, he says, leading to a growing number of homes occupied by renters and turned into group homes. He estimates about 80 homes in the neighborhood are in foreclosure. Some residents apparently put mattresses and other large items on the curb and don’t know they need to call for a pick up. In other cases, people might come from places where having a green lawn is not a priority.

Fairfax County housing inspectors can’t keep up with the workload, so “we hope to be their eyes and ears,” Noe says. So far, the group has written four “friendly letters” to property owners, citing such problems as general clutter, including beer kegs and trash on a front lawn, and an unusuable, unlicensed truck. “We’re seeing some improvement,” he says. The group’s next target is going to be overgrown bushes blocking sidewalks.

“We’re not trying to be vigilantes. We’re not trying to pick on anybody,” Noe says. The group’s main concern is preventing a decline in property values.