California: Infamous San Diego hoarder house finally gets cleaned after SIX YEARS of complaints from the neighbors

CALIFORNIA -- After 100 rats, 20 cats, and six years of accumulating a pile of belongings so large it has spilled out into the front yard, the infamous San Diego hoarder house is finally getting cleaned.

Neighbors are breathing a sigh of relief this week as agents began to clear the mountain of garbage that once greeted them every morning as they passed the driveway of the Mira Mesa home.

San Diego police have found everything from six dead cats, wrapped in plastic bags, in the freezer, to opossums, hunter camouflage suits, and even potential explosive material.

Lt Natalie Stone said it was the worst hoarder house she had ever seen.

And yet it took half a decade and scores of complaints, citations and court hearings before anything could be done about the house with trash so high it could be seen from Google Earth.

At first the neighborhood tried to help, joining the homeowner's family members to aid the clean-up effort in 2010.

But the homeowner, who has a license plate reserved for veterans on his car, began to hoard again. And as the years went by, it became worse and worse.

Lily Larranaga had to stop opening her windows and buy air purifiers for her home.

'It was a health issue, a safety issue, a fire hazard,' she told The San Diego Union-Tribune. 'It was out of his control and we needed to get involved.'

Neighbors struggled to sell their homes because of the stench and eyesores, and others complained it was driving housing prices down.

'It's disgusting,' Ted Brengel, the president of the Mira Mesa Town Council, told CBS 8 in February.
'It smells like garbage. It smells pretty ripe.'

There were reports of investigators climbing overs piles of trash 3 to 4 foot off the ground, the rooms inside covered wall to wall with belongings, the front door blocked by heaps of junk.

Animal control was called to the home 16 different times in seven years on reports of animal neglect, cruelty and the smell of feces and urine. 

In April attorney Richardson Griswold was given legal possession and control of the property. The clean-up could finally begin.
But it will come at a cost, tens and thousands of dollars to be exact.  

Griswold said he initially believed it would cost about $22,000 and six industrial dumpsters to clean the house. But with two more weeks of work still to go, that number may triple.

The attorney said the homeowner, currently residing in a hotel where he was provided with a room, will be responsible for paying back the loans Griswold has taken out the finance the clean-up.

Griswold said cleaning crews are being extra careful with the homeowner's personal belongings, and hopes that the man will be able to find the support he needs.

'My hope is his mother and people who care about him are going to help him make decisions so he doesn't fall into a repeat pattern,' Griswold, whose company will monitor the property going forward, told the Tribune.

'It sometimes takes something pretty dramatic for change to happen.'

Neighbor Larranaga agreed.

'This wasn't just for the good of the neighborhood,' she said. 'It was also about his well-being.'

(Daily Mail - June 2, 2016)