From the curb, Tom Taylor‘s home looks like any other mini-mansion in Top of Skyway neighborhood in southwest Colorado Springs.

Tom Taylor's home near Orion Drive in Top of Skyway neighborhood in Colorado Springs seen in an image from Google Earth.

Take a closer look, however, and you realize Taylor’s home is anything but typical.

Tom Taylor, shown in December in an interview with KOAA News First 5 video.

It’s a textbook example of urban blight.

 And, until recently, the 2.5-acre lot surrounding his 4,300-square-foot home was filled with junk

All types of junk surround the home of Tom Taylor in Top of Skyway neighborhood near Orion Drive. Photo courtsey Colorado Springs Code Enforcement office.

Junk filled the four-bay garage of Tom Taylor's home near Orion Drive in Top of Skyway neighborhood. Photo courtesy Colorado Springs Code Enforcement office.

An old SUV sat amid the rubble, filled with junk, outside the home of Tom Taylor near Orion Drive in Top of Skyway neighborhood of Colorado Springs. Photo courtesy the Colorado Springs Code Enforcement office.

Neighborhing homeowners associations tried to intervene. But Taylor’s home was built before surrounding developments. So covenants governing life in the neighborhood don’t apply to him. The HOAs were impotent.

Code enforcement officers were called and began trying to get Taylor to comply with city rules. Eventually, summons were issued for four violations of code and he was taken to court.

That was last July. He entered a plea agreement and he was put on probation and given until Sept. 30 to remove the junk from his lot.

 The deadline passed but the junk remained. The city took him back to court. On Dec. 15, about a dozen neighbors showed up to testify about conditions on the property.

 The judge found Taylor had violated probation, fined him $500 per violation and warned him he could face jail time if the didn’t get things up to code. Each violation carries a possible 90-day jail sentence.

Junk is visible strewn around the Top of Skyway home of Tom Taylor near Orion Drive in this image from FlashEarth.com.

Here’s a link to a KOAA NewsFirst 5 video of Taylor and his home.

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