Neighbors of a northwest Gainesville homeowner have complained for two decades about Douglas Englert’s property and contacted the city's code enforcement division seeking change.
Englert owned the house at 4105 NW 22nd Drive until April 9, when the city was issued the title to the property as part of a foreclosure case in Alachua County Circuit Civil Court.
It was an extraordinary culmination to the controversy in the Edgewood neighborhood that began in 2006.
Neighbor Patrick Berger has lived in Edgewood since 1993 and said the problem started small with a few trash containers before it became a bigger issue.
“For almost 17 years we’ve been dealing with this nightmare,” he said.
Berger said besides the sight, the clutter has caused problems.
“I found a rat the size of a squirrel in my yard, and I'm thinking I probably know where it came from,” he said.
In 2016, Englert told WUFT that his overcrowded house is due to the way he was raised.
“Ever since I was a small kid growing up in the country, we've been conscious about not having a lot of waste and that tends to make you hold on to things longer than a lot of people do," Englert said.
WUFT attempted to reach Englert during the past week through phone calls and a visit to the property, but he did not respond. He did ask the judge, Mark W. Moseley, in the foreclosure case to vacate the judgment against him in a legal filing on April 11. Moseley has not yet ruled on that motion.
Berger said he and his neighbors have been to court at least five times to confront the issue.
The city of Gainesville took ownership of the property after bidding $120,000 for it, according to Alachua County property records.
Mayor Pro-Tem and City Commissioner Bryan Eastman said it's something the city doesn’t do often, but felt it was necessary in this unique case.
“Over the course of the past 10 years with various code ordinance violations, fines have stacked up over $180,000,” he said.
Englert’s motion to vacate the judgment against him argues that he was not properly served with court documents under Florida law. He also filed for civil indigent status, and if the judge decides he qualifies, the filing and summons fees will be waived.
According to a previous article from 2019, the city charged Englert $100 a day for not sufficiently cleaning his property.
“At that property, we've been hearing complaints about for over 10 years now, issues with the cars being parked. Just overall, the health and safety issues,” Eastman said.
The city will soon sell the property to a new owner, Eastman said, and they will be responsible for handling the clutter.
“Whoever the new owner is will be cleaning that up and making sure that it is up to code,” he said.
The clutter in the front yard impacts the property value of surrounding homes.
Berger said the pile of stuff in Englert's front yard is the No. 1 problem if he planned on selling his house.
“That means it has been bad for a very long time, and it hurts the surrounding property,” Eastman said.
Berger isn’t sure what’s next for his former neighbor.
“I don’t know where he’s going, as long as he’s not here,” he said. “I pray for the next neighborhood he goes to.”