Andrew T. Souza
City Manager Office
2600 Fresno Street
Second Floor
Fresno, CA 93721
Mr. Souza:

This letter comes to you as a formal complaint against Sunriver Homebuilder (Patriots Home, Mark One or Mark 1) which owns a vacant lot located on Hanna Ave (Cross streets: Cromwell and Hanna Ave) in district 2. This lot is located between two private homes in this Fresno residential area. We are asking you to take actions against Sunriver so they can clean up the lot.

Sunriver has chosen to store construction waste of all kinds on this vacant lot for months. Once this trash gets decomposed, it releases a putrid smell besides all the flying trash particles that take over the neighborhood anytime the wind blows. Despite our repeated phone calls to Sunriver and the office of Brian Calhoun, the stored waste (https://shopnowshop.tripod.com/drivingdown) has not been picked up on a regular basis. For the past few months, my family has been battling all kinds of pests, rodents such as rats, mice, frogs and other insects that seem to find a quiet refuge in the mountains of construction trash maintained and operated by Sunriver on above lot. For sure, we are distressed and concerned over the health of our children who become afraid of being in our own garage or back yard. In plain daylight, rats and mice run out of the waste to our garage and vehicles. For the welfare of our family and all the other families living in this quaint residential area and for Christ’s sake, get Sunriver’s owners to clean up the lot! The company put up a sign to prevent others from dumping trash there, yet it is continuing to do the same thing. The presence of the WM trailer on the lot leads one to believe that pickup is imminent, but it has only been a delaying tactic. Sunriver takes away one load only to replace it with two or more loads the same day. We believe that Sunriver can keep the vacant lot clean if forced to do so!

We are tired of living among rodent-infested construction waste left by a homebuilder. We do not know where to turn to to find help. If the city can not enforce its own code, who else will get them to do anything? By buying relatively expensive homes in a decent Fresno neighborhood, we expect the city to provide us with a minimum of services. Why should Sunriver drive down the property values of the whole neighborhood with its stored waste? What kinds of message is the city of Fresno sending out to business owners and other families who want to relocate here?

Sincerely yours

cc: Brian Calhoun / District2 2600 Fresno Street Fresno, CA 93721

cc: Alan Autry/Fresno City Hall 200 Fresno Street Second Floor Fresno, CA 93721

cc: Sunriver (Patriot’s Home, Mark 1 or Mark One) 4720 W. Jennifer Suite 107 Fresno, CA 93722

Neighbors’ Signatures:

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 12:37 AM EST

Updated: Sunday, 19 February 2006 12:38 AM EST

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Thanks to Sunriver, the lot is now clean. We still do not know how long it will remain this way. Now that the lot is clean, the rats and mice that found refuge there migrate to our shed and garage. I was doing yard work this afternoon. I opened the shed to retrieve a broken edger. I saw two humongous rats chasing running away to find cover. It was plain daylight. I decided to go to Orchard Supply to purchase some old-fashioned rat and mouse traps.

This kind of domestic terror must nipped in the bud. Our children are afraid to visit and play in the garage. They will not go to the shed for any reasons. That is the predicament we find ourselves in. Because the construction waste filled with cardboards, broken pieces of sheetrock and other materials were the quiet habitats of rodents that had to find new homes.

This is what we are doing. We intend to engage in a war with them. We hope that Sunriver will understand our problems with these pests. Long after they clean the lot, we, neighbors, will still have to deal with rats which are known disease carriers. That is where the city should be concerned about a public health crisis.

Any way, we have set some traps. We hope to catch a few mice and rats. We are rat hunting! We will show you the results of our pest campaign.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 12:08 AM EST

Updated: Sunday, 19 February 2006 12:24 AM EST

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Help, oh help! Residents of district 2 which Brian Calhoun represents, are fed up with trash from Sunriver builders. Now you may see why people are afraid of investing in Fresno. Sunriver built and sold homes to homeowners who find it impossible to breathe under the mountain of trash left to stink for months next door. If a builder can get away with leaving so much waste on its vacant lot in a top residential area, what can it not do in poor residential areas on Kings Canyon and elswhere? Yet, those who are elected to represent us keep their mouth shut. What are we led to believe? Nobody can tell the owners of this company to clean its act because it may have made huge campaign contributions in the past? There must be some balance. If the company made contributions to local politicians, that money benefitted one person or a few people during the campaign. Yet, a whole neighborhood has to live with trash. We are just trying to speculate here. Can there be any reasons for such licences? We have no evidence that Sunriver contributed money to any politicians in District 2 or elswhere in Fresno. The people's needs must be served first. We are at a loss for words. How can they get away with subjecting children and parents to unsafe living conditions?

These are the cries of desperation. We are crying in the desert. Indifference is the only friend. We are lonely and weak. We can not do much to make this company accountable. Yet, We are surrounded by people who need our votes and contributions. For God's sake, we pay taxes just like anybody else does. How come there is nobody who is out there to help us? When we call the phone numbers, we leave messages to voicemail. Nobody solves anything. We wonder whether paychecks are collected. Where are all those absenteists?

More fresh but stinking waste will follow soon.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 12:01 AM EST

Updated: Monday, 20 February 2006 11:51 AM EST

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Sunriver or Patriots Home or Mark One or Mark I needs to respect its own sign. We only ask for complete cleanup. Beautification of Fresno City is not a half-done work. It has to be done completely. We, neighbors, do not want trash to be stored in our midst any longer. These bricks or construction materials need to be re-arranged in a pleasing manner. There is no order or beauty in seeing this mess!

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 11:18 AM EST

Updated: Saturday, 18 February 2006 3:05 PM EST

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Great news! Somehow Sunriver is cleaning up its construction mess in Brian Calhoun's district2. Our children will be able to breathe again. The stench that has been on this Patriots Home or Mark One or Mark I-owned lot is gone. Well, we may be asking what is coming next. In the past few months, half cleanup always led to more dumping despite the company's sign. Is Sunriver going to clean up the whole lot?

No matter what, we want to rejoice over this new development.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 11:13 AM EST

Updated: Thursday, 16 February 2006 11:23 AM EST

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