Whiskey Creek neighbors upset about unsightly vacant home

People living in a Lee County neighborhood are tired of looking at a home near them they say is unkempt and has a history of mold and rat infestation. The owner of the home recently moved and left behind a house in need of a response.

The Whiskey Creek neighborhood in Lee County is known for its great location, but a home that sits along Cognac Drive just west of Summerlin Road is the cause for what neighbors consider to be a potentially dangerous health hazard.

“It’s really a shame,” neighbor Jessica Nolan said. “It really is a great community. Everybody takes care of their yards. You can see it as you drive through.”

The home being scrutinized for health hazards and being unsightly has boards on its windows that have been present since Hurricane Irma in 2017. And weeds are abundant all around the home.

Nolan said she is one of many people who fear for neighborhood kids’ safety because of the home. And the mess is right behind her own home.

“Well of course our values is a concern, but the danger of it,” Nolan said. “After the hurricane, the screen went down the fence, went down, and nothing was done, and the pool was empty actually. It was full of black water.”

The pool danger resulted in the most serious of the owner’s 24 code violations. When they didn’t fix the pool, the county put a lien on the property.

“It’s uninhabitable,” neighbor Dane Sweet said. “I mean you go inside it, it’s all rat infested, and mold is in it.”

Anyone living near a home like that should make complaints to code enforcement and the home owner’s association if there is one.

Lee County officials confirmed they are working with code enforcement to find a solution in Whiskey Creek.

Whiskey Creek is a deed-restricted community. And an expert told us that means code enforcement has to go after the owner. But that’s a slow process, and neighbors here said they’re tired of waiting.

“I think the county either needs to take it over, or someone needs to buy it and remodel it,” Nolan said. “I don’t know that it’s salvageable to be honest.”