{"id":199070,"date":"2026-03-11T00:22:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T00:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/199070\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T00:22:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T00:22:07","slug":"cypress-area-neighbors-say-they-cant-use-their-backyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/199070\/","title":{"rendered":"Cypress-area neighbors say they can\u2019t use their backyards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neighbors in a Cypress<\/a>-area community say the smell of diesel and the sound of engines running for hours have made it difficult to even step outside their homes.<\/p>\n

Residents believe the source may be a heavy-duty diesel repair operation running out of a storage facility near their neighborhood. Now, the Harris County Constable Precinct 1 Environmental Crimes Unit is looking into whether anything illegal is happening.<\/p>\n

From the outside, the property near Huffmeister Road and Skinner Road appears to be a storage facility. But people living along Pinebrook Trail say the sounds and smells coming from behind a fence tell a different story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very loud, it gives me a headache,\u201d one neighbor said. \u201cI cannot go outside. I have to wear a mask just to go to the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents say the noise and fumes have made them feel like prisoners in their own homes because of what\u2019s happening just on the other side of their backyard fences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most frustrating thing about it is I work hard every single day and I enjoy going in my backyard,\u201d said homeowner Jeffery Byers. \u201cWhat\u2019s frustrating is I can\u2019t even go into my backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neighbors say throughout the day \u2014 and sometimes into the evening \u2014 they hear what sounds like diesel engines running and see trucks being worked on behind the property\u2019s fence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe diesel is running six hours a day,\u201d Byers said. \u201cThe smell is terrible. Not to mention the view \u2014 when I walk in my house the first thing I see is two dump trucks back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some residents say they have tried to speak with the people working at the facility but were unable to get answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey won\u2019t talk to us. We\u2019ve tried and tried and tried,\u201d Byers said.<\/p>\n

KPRC 2 was able to enter the facility and speak with a man who appeared to be a mechanic. After being shown video recorded by neighbors, he acknowledged that workers do repair diesel trucks there. However, he denied that work continues late into the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cPor la noche nunca estamos aqu\u00ed. Nosotros a las 6:30 m\u00e1s o menos nos vamos de aqu\u00ed todos los d\u00edas,\u201d he said, explaining they leave around 6:30 p.m. each day.<\/p>\n

He also disputed claims that engines are left running for long periods.<\/p>\n

Neighbors say the problem has been ongoing for months.<\/p>\n

Constable Alan Rosen<\/a> said the Precinct 1 Environmental Crimes Unit is investigating to determine whether any laws or regulations are being violated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see if there\u2019s any referrals either to the district attorney\u2019s office, to the county attorney\u2019s office, to pollution control or to TCEQ,\u201d Rosen said.<\/p>\n

Rosen added that even if investigators find violations, the goal is often to work with both the community and whoever is operating the business to find a solution.<\/p>\n

Neighbors say they\u2019re hoping that happens soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to enjoy our weekends. We want to barbecue,\u201d Byers said. \u201cMy granddaughter comes out \u2014 I have a one-year-old granddaughter. I\u2019m not going to take her to the backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mechanic told KPRC 2 that repairs to one of the trucks currently at the property should be finished by Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The constable\u2019s office says people concerned about possible environmental violations can report them through the Harris County<\/a> Environmental Crimes Hotline. The number is 832-927-1567.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neighbors in a Cypress-area community say the smell of diesel and the sound of engines running for hours…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2624,78651,56,58,57,78649,78650],"class_list":{"0":"post-199070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-cypress","9":"tag-diesel-fumes","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-headlines","12":"tag-houston-news","13":"tag-huffmeister-road","14":"tag-pinebrook-trail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}