On Tuesday, Washoe County officially declared the unsightly clutter along Quartz Lane, a public nuisance. Officials say this type of declaration is not something that happens often. 

Dozens of residents in the neighborhood are fed up with the abandoned vehicles, furniture and other trash lining the street. There might be some hope in sight, though. Dave Solaro, Assistant County Manager for Washoe County says, "We are going to be able to clean it up ourselves based on the action of the board."

However, the clean up likely won't be immediate. Solaro says the privately owned land's history makes it difficult, "The owners actually passed away, the properties went into tax delinquent status, the treasurer comes in and is the trustee of those properties. However, those properties always belonged to the same owners." Solaro continues, "The public thought that we owned the property and we just didn't want to deal with it, so we just gave it back to some deceased people. That's not the case."

Now, the county has some red tape to go through before taking action.  Solaro says, "[We have] to try and notify anybody that may have any interest in this property and work through that process. If we can't get in touch with them, then we will abate it."

At that point, Solaro says they have a few options, including taking the issue to court, or using funds to clean it up themselves. He says, "So we've identified some funds, trying not to use tax-payer money."

They will then attach that cost to the land, so if and when it is bought or picked up, that cleanup fee is included.

Back in October, more than 75 residents signed and brought a petition to the county pleading for action. Solaro says that did play a role in being able to declare the issue a public nuisance.

He says it gave them more ground to stand on when taking the issue up with the Board of County Commissioners. Solaro says, "Nevada Revised Statutes allow the ability for the board to hear the complaint. Staff does not have a clear path to follow outside our administrative hearing process without the petition from the public." 

Original Story:

From abandoned cars to discarded furniture and everything in between, many Sun Valley residents are fed up.  People who live near Quartz Lane say it's not only an eyesore, but a danger and fire hazard to the community. 

Like Cassidy Setser, who has lived off of Quartz Lane for several months now.  There's only one roadway leading to and from her house, Setser says, pointing to the row of abandoned vehicles on Quartz Lane, "If this place catches on fire, there's no exit for any of us."

With all of the junk lining the roadway, it's a difficult, if not impossible, path for emergency first-responders. It's a very real concern, considering one of the RVs there caught fire earlier this year. Neighbors say it happened when someone living in that RV was using a wood stove which ended up catching the vehicle on fire. 

Several residents say this road turned makeshift junkyard has been a problem for years, but worsened in recent months. Cassidy says it's a safety hazard, with drug use and other illegal activity, "There's actually somebody living in that [vehicle]." She continued, "At night and late afternoon, there's people scavenging parts off the car."

Residents have gone to the county, sheriff's office and code enforcement with their concerns, but aren't happy with the answer they receive. The county says their hands are essentially tied in this case, since it is a privately owned road.

Bob Webb, Planning Manager for Washoe County Department of Community Services says, "For the sheriff's office to respond to complaints, junk, junk vehicles, it has to be a public road, so they're constrained in that they cannot do that. Our constraint from code enforcement is we have to find a responsible party, someone who we can say, 'You need to clean this up.'"

Unfortunately, the owners of the property are deceased, and Webb adds, "The heirs to the estate refuse to take responsibility for the property." The county says they're looking to create a program for this road and similar problem areas to see if there is anything further they can do.

Meanwhile, Cassidy says she does have some hope in a possible solution code enforcement mentioned-- paving the dirt road.  She says, "Even though it could take up to a year, once it's paved, it becomes county liability, so they have to maintenance the road."

Residents have started a petition for this problem and have over 50 signatures so far. They plan to show their strength in numbers at next week's Board of County Commissioner's meeting.

They say if nothing is done soon, they're prepared to take legal action.Â