CHEBOYGAN CO., MI -- People in one Cheyboygan County neighborhood are saying not in my backyard!

They tell 7&4 news they're tired of all this junk, but the man who lives there says that junk is how he survives.

People who live in the Topinabee community say they're tired of looking at what they call a filthy mess!

7&4 talked to several of those upset neighbors and the man whose yard is in question.

"He's got to go, plain and simple, that's the bottom line, I don't change my attitude, mind or nothing, and I don't think it's unreasonable to keep their yard reasonably clean," said next door neighbor Bill Chevalier.

Bill Chevalier says this yard next door to his home has him steaming.  The yard has grass and a lot of other stuff.  Vintage cars, rusting cars, pieces of cars, and vacuum cleaners, just to name a few things.

"You kind of become apathetic, and when it gets really bad, you just kind of stop looking at it," said John Belfy, who lives across the street.

"Disgusting, just disgusting, anybody that drives by, you filmed it, it's an eyesore," said Dave Meyers, who father lives next to the yard.

Fred Smith is the owner of the home and has lived here for 16 years.  He says he's disabled, lives on a very small social security pension and he is financially responsible for his daughter who lives with him and has special needs.  Smith tells 7&4 News the clutter in his yard is items given to him by his friends and it's stuff he sells to survive.

"The stuff that we do collect, we take down to the scrap yard, and we take that money and go buy food to keep us going," said Smith.

Neighbors say it's causing their homes to lose value, and it's time something is done.  I called the County Planning and Zoning office and they said they can't create a blight ordinance because that's up to the local governments.  But the county did say Fred Smith has two zoning enforcement actions against him, one being an accumulation of waste material, and another being the storage of unlicensed and inoperative vehicles in access of 30 days.

Smith admits his yard was much worse just a couple weeks ago.  But he says he's started the clean-up process because the county came to him and gave him a 30 day notice to clean his yard up.

“I'm not doing it to make my house look like a mess, I don't like it, it bothers me, but what bothers me more is my daughter sleeping in the back of a car, my daughter sleeping on the street, myself sleeping on the street, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to do that," said Smith.

He calls it survival, not blight.  Neighbors say they just want it cleaned up.

Smith says all of the cars parked are registered and insured, and considered antiques under repair.

He also says he's working on clearing the yard because he plans to move.