Residents fed up with messy yard in Fort Myers neighborhood

Leo Trudeau bought his house in a quiet neighborhood with the hopes of enjoying retirement.

Instead, Trudeau said he has spent countless hours trying to do something about the mess next door. His neighbor, Chad Caron, has piles of junk covering the backyard.

“We’ve been going through this going on a year and a half now,” Trudeau said.

Code enforcement has been monitoring Caron’s home, off of Treehaven Circle near U.S. 41 and Crystal Drive, since January 2017, according to Lee County officials. That’s when Caron was first issued a citation for debris nuisance.

Caron was cited again two months later and was given five weeks to correct the situation, at which point the county started fining him $20 a day.

Lisa Hill lives in Caron’s home, and while she said she doesn’t appreciate the mess, she said that’s how Caron makes a living.

“He builds all kinds of different things. He works with tile, he works with wood, he paints stuff,” Hill said.

“Well I’m hoping this is the solution,” Trudeau said after discovering a certificate of sale confirming that PennyMac Loan Services bought Caron’s property in an auction last week.

The $20 fine per day is still in effect, according to Lee County officials. Meaning Caron has racked a $6,700 fine thus far.