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Neighborhood questions new property that resembles storage shed at front of subdivision
BATON ROUGE - A neighborhood is fighting to get rid of what it's calling an eyesore. The HOA in Maryland Heights contacted 2 On Your Side about a piece of property that seems to have popped up overnight and no one can say whether or not it's been done legally.
Ursula Clark-Holmes says it happened in the middle of the night.
"We were asleep and I heard some noise," she said.
A porch was delivered to an empty lot at the front of the subdivision. A week or so later a wooden structure was dropped off and later put on blocks. Clark-Holmes has lived in Maryland Heights for more than a decade and loves it, but this new addition to the neighborhood isn't exactly the representation she'd like people to see when they first turn in.
"This is a storage unit that is trying to be converted as a two-bedroom, one-bath home," said Clark-Holmes.
She points out there are no electrical, plumbing, or permits posted, but someone has recently poured a driveway. Clark-Holmes seems to think a smaller structure that has not been connected to the larger one, will become the one-bath part.
"It's not a home, it's a storage unit that they are trying to convert," she said.
When the pieces first started showing up, Clark-Holmes contacted the City-Parish and her council person.
The City-Parish says that there's an active inquiry about the property and it's communicating with the property owners about what's happening there. The City-Parish says it's a matter of compliance with local codes and ordinances.
But it's taking a little longer for Clark-Holmes to get the answers she's been looking for, especially since work continues. She says crews often work on the weekends or during the evening.
The City-Parish says the property owner has filed for a domicile permit. It has not been approved. If the property owner doesn't respond to the parish's inquiry it'll refer the matter to the City-Parish attorney.