Clearwater residents beg commissioners for help with house that's become 'safety hazard'

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A group of Clearwater residents signed a petition, begging county commissioners to help them deal with a house on their block that they claim has become "a serious safety hazard."

Fox Circle is a short street with roughly 15 houses that dead ends into a cul-de-sac. Two years ago, one house in the middle of the block burned down.

"There’s just no work that gets done on that property," Jeff Undestad, a neighbor and recently retired Largo police chief, told the Pinellas Board of county commissioners during Tuesday’s public comment portion. "And it’s really become a serious safety hazard."

Several neighbors told FOX 13 that the property owners hired contractors to work on the house. However, neighbors said they don’t believe that the people who frequently show up to the property are licensed contractors.

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"I’m concerned because these people are apparently dealing drugs from this place," a resident told county commissioners Tuesday.

Several residents told FOX 13 that two weekends ago, they performed CPR on an individual who had overdosed at the house. There have been at least three overdoses in the last two years. 

Neighbors didn’t want to be identified out of fear of retaliation. 

Some said they’ve tried to speak to the property’s owners, but "it’s very hard to talk to them, because the only thing they do is start talking obscenities and yelling to all the neighborhood."

On Wednesday, one day after several residents addressed county commissioners at their Tuesday meeting, county staff was seen at the Fox Circle property, which residents described as "reassuring."

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FOX 13 has tried to contact the property owners for comment but hasn’t heard back yet.

Meanwhile, Fox Circle residents hope answers and assistance are coming from county commissioners soon.

"We demand action to ensure the neighborhood safety and preservation and have lost patience with the illegal activities and hazardous conditions at this property," a resident told county commissioners Tuesday.

Since it wasn’t an agenda item, the board did not make any decisions about the house in question during Tuesday’s meeting.