FORUM: A new 'Neighborhood Watch'

By Barbara Nugent -- Murrieta resident | Friday, November 28, 2008 12:25 AM PST ∞

In the past, Neighborhood Watch groups formed to protect homes from crime. Now it is time to protect our home values and our neighborhoods from deteriorating because of the rising number of unkempt lawns due to foreclosures.

Banks and real estate companies are more eager to recoup their losses or make money than they are to maintain "the look" of the foreclosed homes. We can stand by and "Watch" the deterioration, or we can do something about it.

We have cleaned up the yards of nine homes in our area, and the main problem now is maintaining the cleaned-up properties by mowing, raking, etc. Since August, volunteers in our neighborhood have spent 196 manhours on this project.

Our concern is not just our neighborhood, but the overall look of our city. So we have gone into nearby neighborhoods: six houses in Encanto/Provence; three homes in Blackmore Ranch, four homes in Oak Creek, one in Acacia Crest, a home on Lincoln, one on Jennings and two on Falconer.

The difference the cleanup makes is phenomenal. Most of us never thought our efforts could make that much of a difference, or that brown yards could make us smile with pride once they were mowed, raked and edged. To date, our group of volunteers has accumulated over 200 manhours working in other neighborhoods and we are now struggling to maintain the cleaned-up properties in neighborhoods where we do not live.

Please share the Watch; if you cannot participate in the initial cleanup, volunteer to do the maintenance on the house down the street or mow the lawn of the house next door. If you cannot volunteer your time, lend us a lawn mower if you see us working in your neighborhood, volunteer to trim back the high palm fronds we can no longer reach in a few of the yards ---- or pay someone to do it. Several of the volunteers have already paid for truckloads of lawn debris to be taken to Agriscape or for lawns to be mowed, edged or weeded.

This is a busy time of year, but it is also the time of year where many of us decorate our yards for the holidays, and other residents drive through to admire the results. By keeping up the Watch, we can make sure that our neighborhoods have the "cared for" look they had in the past, when others would not only admire our decorations but our whole neighborhood.

Become part of the solution ---- help out however you can by paying for fliers, by providing heavy-duty trash bags or by the temporary use of a gasoline-powered edger or trimmer sitting in your garage.

Most of these houses do not have water or electricity turned on; we use hand tools to edge, trim, clip and prune. We need help to keep the project moving from neighborhood to neighborhood.

I hope that as you read this you make a New Year's resolution to join the team, and that it will be one resolution you will keep.

Barbara Nugent is a Murrieta resident and may be reached at (951) 677-2430.