Keith Menefee would like to sell his northwest-side home but he says his neighbor is making that impossible.
For the past 18 months Menefee's neighbor, Robert Blankenship, has turned his own yard into a salvage yard.
Blankenship has been "scraping." - not the kind you put in a book, but the kind where you gather scrap metals, sort them then take the valuable scrap to a recycler. Blankenship's yard is littered with old barbeque pits, swing sets, shelving and almost anything of any scrap value.
Menefee began complaining to Code Compliance in April of 2008. Since then the city has gone to municipal court and district court , and won cases ordering Blankenship to clean up.
But, despite the court orders, the mess continues. So this past Monday Blankenship's attorneys and San Antonio attorneys met and reached a settlement.
Blankenship has until December 3 to clean up everything. Not just tidy up, but completely remove all scrap.
A city inspector will visit the property the next day and if everything is not gone, the city will put out bids immediately and accept the lowest bid the following Monday. The winning bidder will come in on December 11 and remove everything that's left in the yard.
Menefee says he's not holding his breath, he's been told that before. But he says if that does happen, just maybe he'll get that place in the country.
