Hampton, IA- The snow is gone and several homeowners are wishing their neighbors would clean up. Now local authorities are writing citations.

Hampton Police Lieutenant Robert Schaefer was making his regular rounds Tuesday.

"This is the type of house we’d receive complaints, “ Schaefer said as he drove.

It's his job to be on the lookout for properties that don’t meet the town’s nuisance ordinance.

"We’re looking for junk, bags of garbage, old tires," said Schaefer.

In the last three weeks, Hampton police have handed out nearly 70 nuisance ordinance notices to folks with messy yards.

"Most of the people will say yeah we know we needed to get rid of it."

Schaefer says there’s no black and white rule as to what defines a nuisance, but they aren't hard to spot.

"They're items that can't be stored in town because they are an eye sore."

Several neighbors say they're sick of looking at all the junk. They say it's "disgusting." If police agree, the property owners get a notice.

"When they get the notice they have 5 days to get rid of whatever the nuisance is."

Usually the issue is taken care of immediately. However, sometimes the property owners just don't understand. One neighbor told KIMT "what the city is doing is wrong, and unfair." Schaefer says the owner of some houses challeng their notices. Schaefer says it's likely the problem will never go away.

"Same properties are the ones we served again this year."

Lieutenant Schaefer says officers can give people an extension if they need more time to clean up their property. If someone does not comply in a timely matter, they can be fined $150.