UPDATE: Security-Widefield home neighbors are frustrated about has been on county radar since 2017
UPDATE Oct. 4
While neighbors in Security-Widefield have been frustrated over a property on Bradley Street, El Paso County has heard their complaints.
While neighbors believed it was squatters at the property, El Paso County told KRDO NewsChannel 13, the homeowner actually lives on the property.
But the home on 106 Bradley Street has been on their radar since 2017. Code enforcement has been out to clean up a couple of times, most recently in April of 2018.
The homeowner does have a permit allowing him to work on the house until Oct. 17. After that, the Regional Building Department can get an order to demolish the home, as they deemed the house a “dangerous building” earlier this year.
“El Paso County will at that point likely consider seeking a judicial authorization for us to go and demolish that structure because it’s dangerous,” Deputy Public Information Officer for El Paso County, Matt Steiner, said.
El Paso County also said law enforcement and the fire department have responded to that home 44 times since the first of this year.
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Bradley Street in Security-Widefield is relatively quiet, with mostly well taken care of homes, a basketball hoop to play with, and neighbors picking up their mail, but one particular property is causing frustration in the neighborhood.
“There’s just so much creepiness going on,” Andy Harmon said.
Harmon is referring to 106 Bradley Street. He’s lived right next door since 2015. He was also the person to call 911 when the house was on fire last October.
“The edge of the roof, all burned out,” Harmon said pointing at the house he’s renting. “This window, that window, and the big windows up there totally blew out the fire was so hot it blew out.”
Harmon and his wife ended up out of the home for more than three months, but those next door stayed put.
“It was worse than ever,” Harmon said.
Now, just a shell of a home sits at 106 Bradley St. Cars litter the property and the street out front, remnants of bikes sit in the backyard. Tents also stand on the property that neighbors say people live in, adding the people living there burn items in one of the tents.
Neighbors who spoke with KRDO NewsChannel 13 said the property was an issue years before the fire.
“On a hot day, if the breeze is blowing from over here it smells like a sewer,” Harmon said.
“They don’t have any sewage, so who knows where they’re going to the bathroom over there,” another neighbor told KRDO NewsChannel 13’s Colleen Sikora.
The neighbor asked to have his identity hidden, as he’s afraid for his family’s safety.
“They’re squatters,” the man said.
He said they’ve complained to El Paso County, but more drastic measures are needed.
“We’d like to see them gone and that area cleaned up and scrapped,” he said.
El Paso County said they’ve received complaints of squatters and code enforcement has been out to clean up a few times.
