Neighbors fed up with 'junk' piled outside Katy-area home

KATY, TX (KTRK) -- Neighbors say they are fed up with the junk piled up outside a Katy-area home.

The house, located in the 1000 block of Red Rock Canyon Drive, is an eyesore, according to those who live nearby. They say it's been that way for years, attracting insects and rodents as the occupants repeatedly hold yard sales leaving what they sell piled in the yard, on the driveway and sometimes even all the way to the curb.

"It's frustrating," said concerned homeowner Laverne Wertz, who lives right next door. He says there's a stark contrast to his property which earlier this year won "Yard of the Month."

"I was just frustrated with all of this junk out there and nobody would do anything about it," Wertz said.

Neighbors say this is clearly a violation of deed restrictions but the homeowner's association tells us issues are more complicated than that: the prior owner of the property died. The current occupants took control of the home and have been living there ever since. Those who live nearby call the occupants "squatters."

A Harris County judge issued a permanent injunction in June trying to force clean up the property, stating that the folks living at the home are responsible for "ongoing garage and yard sales," where "trash, junk and rubbish" are repeatedly left in the "public view."

Even an injunction hasn't proven effective in stopping the scene here.

"Our claims have fallen on deaf ears, really," said nearby resident Kevin Morahan.

An attorney for the Cimarron Improvement Association says this property was recently foreclosed on and the new owner has started eviction proceedings to get the current occupants out.

Those who live at the home repeatedly refused to answer our questions about the property and what is happening there. A woman who answered the door refused to characterize the items outside as "trash."