DRACUT — Flavio Granda Orbes says he’s looking forward to spending a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with family and friends with his new volleyball and soccer fields he built in the backyard at his Dracut home. “I just want to be nice to everyone. I want to tell them that I’m not doing anything wrong. I just want to have fun with my friends and the little kids. They always come to play with us,” Flavio said.
Flavio says the vision behind his project is for his backyard to be so spacious that it would be a great idea for neighbors and friends to get together for a few friendlies. What he didn’t anticipate was competition from some neighbors who didn’t appreciate the uproar it caused.
Flavio Granda Orbes’ backyard athletic field at Dracut CBS Boston
James Martin is a direct ally of Flavio’s estate. He and other neighbors expressed their strong opposition at a town hall meeting in April. “It’s an absolute nuisance,” Martin said. “They have stadium lights that shine right into my kitchen windows at a quarter to ten at night.”
Dracut City Manager Ann Vandal says Flavio is complying. “At this point, the only issue we have at this intersection is that he needs to update and resolve the electrical permitting issues that he has. He was asked not to turn on the light until he fixed this issue and he did. He did.” “Very cooperative,” said Vandal.
Flavio Granda Orbes’ home and backyard athletic field at Dracut CBS Boston
Flavio says he moved here from Ecuador for better opportunities. He has a successful roofing business that enabled him to buy his dream home. His yard is completely fenced, he has the lights off and is ready to comply with all city regulations.
Anayia Darius lives in the house next door to Flavio and says her family doesn’t mind the house parties at all. “One night I was at home, there was a party, they had a lot of cars, it wasn’t a disturbance,” Darius said. “It never gets to the point where we feel we have to file a noise complaint.”
Flavio hopes his neighbors will allow him to celebrate his culture without being disturbed. “I don’t know what the problem is,” Flavio said. “For the first time there was parking on both sides of the street. But now we have parked the cars in my yard. It’s a big yard.”
Paul Burton
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