A Loudoun County (web|news) community is calling for change as, neighbors say, an influx of illegal immigrants, foreclosed homes, and crime are pulling down the quality of life.

After a town hall meeting Tuesday night promising help, officials say the image of Sterling Park will be restored. Past the homes with overgrown grass or trash in some yards, Lee Staffeld says it's the threat of crime that worries him most in his neighborhood. "It's just scary to know that it happens in this area."

Those who live in Sterling Park , Sterling, and Sugarland say crime, even violence, is the result of communities left to neglect and decay. 

"It's getting rundown, you know all the un-mowed grass and people's properties, the furniture being out on the lawn and houses not being taken care of and cars in the driveway and too many families in one home,"said resident Rosie Oberle.

Some point to houses that are home to a lot of people as part of the problem. And to a surge of foreclosed homes along their streets, the houses become nuisance properties. 

"I'm five-foot and the grass was literally four-and-a-half-feet. I stood in some of the yards and the grass was up to here," said neighbor Cindy Balik.

While overcrowding and blight are not criminal charges, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office says it devotes more resources to these neighborhoods than any other with bike teams, a gang unit, and soon a sheriff's sub-station.

"We're really hoping that the mere presence of this station will reassure folks that we are really doing everything we can possibly do within our authority and in our means to deal with some of these issues in Sterling Park ," said Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson.

Some leaders in Loudoun County are looking to Fairfax County (web|news) for a program there that is a code-enforcement strike team that brings together zoning, code-enforcement, fire marshals, and law enforcement to take care of blighted properties and the crime that sometimes comes with them.