RICHMOND, Va. -- Abandoned and unsightly is how Candace Kizzie and her neighbors describe the big, rusty shipping container sitting in their Fulton subdivision, next to a playground.
They`re beyond frustrated it`s been there so long.
“It`s a bit of an eyesore...it`s been here the five years we`ve been here,” said resident Candace Kizzie.
"And it`s right next to a playground so that`s the worst location of anything to be there,” said Neche Miller. “It`s unfit for the neighborhood...doesn`t fit in."
Neighbors tell the CBS 6 Problem Solvers they have reached out to the city for help for years, to no avail.
They even dialed the number listed on the container, only to be told that company hasn`t owned it in years.
Parents worry about the container near the playground
We reached out to the same company, and a woman told us she sold that container to individual several years ago, but no longer has the records.
She also sold her company, and legally can`t remove it because it`s no longer her property.
Folks who live there just want it gone, and said their concerns are growing, because they`ve noticed children playing in the unsecured container.
"I mean, it could be a danger,” said Linnsey Boldt. “Especially with kids running around here and you don`t know who’s going to be over there.”
“They could snatch up a kid, or a kid could get stuck in there,” she added.
The container has been there at least five years, resident said.
Neighbors pointed out that there could be many dangerous scenarios involving the containter.
“All I can imagine now are kids playing a joke on each other and closing the door, somebody gets locked in there,” Kizzle said. “Somebody gets forgotten in there, yeah, it could go downhill pretty fast -- especially when it`s hot."
The CBS 6 Problem Solvers contacted Richmond Code Enforcement Operations Manager John Walsh.
He explained there’s a code prohibiting anyone from parking a shipping container at the site for storage.
He also said city records noted the property the container sits on is not owned by the city, but rather the Fulton Village II Homeowners Association.
That was news to neighbors who now plan to take their fight to their association, and they said hopefully get this out of their community.
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