CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Spooky Alley Halloween Yard — a popular family-run Halloween haunted house in Cape Coral — could come down before it's even Halloween.
The Cape Coral Code Enforcement Office says the attraction violates several compliance codes, which include: section 5.1.9 Work in the Public Right-of-Way and Public Utility Easements, as well as, Florida Building code 105.1 Permit Required.
The Klapper family has been running Spooky Alley since 2013, and they say each year it grows even more with the help of volunteers.
The free Halloween attraction started with just six visitors, but now that number has jumped to nearly 1000. On Thursday, the Klapper says they received a visit from the code enforcement office.
During the initial visit, the office informed the Klapper family the wooden pallets, which hold up their structure, needed to come down within 24-hours.
Today we spoke with Courtney Klapper, who says it's taken them months of preparing costumes and decorations on top of the four weeks invested into assembling the haunted house.
"This is our private property, and we are doing something out of the goodness of our hearts because we like to see the kids happy and excited. Their faces are so adorable when they walk out, and they are like 'did you see, I talked to the witch," says Klapper.
Klapper says the pallet walls are secured into the ground using stakes and screws and removing them would destroy the entire display.
She assures they've taken all the proper steps to ensure safety, so much so, they've made sure their attraction is wheelchair accessible.
However, the code compliance office says if a vehicle were to strike the pallets, the structure would collapse, adding that many of the pallet walls are in the City-owned right-of-way.
During a second visit on Friday, a codes and compliance officer told the Klapper family the office needed to see progress in the removal of the pallet walls by Sunday.
After years of running Spooky Alley, the Klapper family is asking for the community's help to stop the removal of the haunted house and allow trick-o-treaters the chance to enjoy the attraction one more year.
"I'm asking for you to please call the mayor, call the city council office, Facebook them, email them, whatever you can do. Please tell them to allow us to take it down November 1st," says Klapper.
