Hazardous home causing headaches for neighbors in Sanford
SANFORD, Fla. - An abandoned home in Sanford is facing demolition if the owners don't correct a lengthy list of code enforcement issues in the next couple of weeks.
Several people in the neighborhood told FOX 35 News that the property has been a problem for years. A newly posted sign at the house warns, "Danger – this building is unsafe." If the property owners don’t rectify the issues by May 9, the county says it will demolish it themselves.
According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, there were 166 calls for service at the address over just three years. These 911 calls included problems with code enforcement, disturbances, suspicious activity, and illegal dumping.
Neighbors, like Robert Lundquist, who lives nearby, expressed frustration. At a recent meeting, Lundquist addressed the county commission, stating, "It is, by definition, a nuisance. It's been a nuisance to me, our neighbors, and the small little community of Loch Arbor."
At their meeting on April 9, the commission gave the property owners one month to correct all the code enforcement violations and address a $220,000 lien. However, co-owner Michael Baker Junior claims he only learned about this situation.
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"Now I'm here, left trying to pick all the pieces up. Save it. Because I would like my three sons to be able to see what it was," Baker said. The property used to belong to his father, who recently passed away. Baker expressed shock at the property's current state, having not seen it in ten years.
To bring the property up to code and avoid demolition, Seminole County’s building official, Bob Pike, outlined extensive repairs needed, including removing drywall, replacing wiring, installing new plumbing and ductwork, and replacing the roof.
Pike told the commission, "I don't know if that could happen by May 9. That would take a monumental feat for that to happen."
Baker Jr. echoed this sentiment: "You can't have everything they want done in 30 days. It just it's not possible. I've been in construction 20 years, so I know what it takes."
As Baker explores legal options, neighbors expressed eagerness to see the property demolished. One neighbor remarked, "I just don't want to see something my grandmother and grandfather worked their whole lives for destroyed for nothing. Because the people that owned it before me didn't care about it, and I do care."
In Tuesday’s commission meeting agenda, officials discussed another property that has accumulated fines since 2011 and now faces a lien of over a million dollars. The county is considering declaring this property a nuisance as well.