Tall Grass! City discusses actions to cut unkept lawns

Thursday, July 30, 2009

— Enforcement of city code requiring property owners to keep grass cut and debris picked up was the focus of Thursday's Building and Property Code Enforcement Committee meeting.

City attorney Jay Williams told committee members he would be requesting guidance from the city council regarding starting a second round of legal proceedings to either force property owners to mow and clean up their properties or to have the city do it and place a lien on the properties for all costs involved.

Williams told the committee that the required legal procedures had been followed for the city to mow and clean up several properties one time, but that now a number of these properties were again in violation of the city's code. He said the law was not specific as to whether the whole procedure of identifying the legal property owner and giving all the legal notices needed to be repeated for each cutting or if the city could go back and mow again as long as the total cost did not exceed $1,000.

"It seems to have helped," Mayor Wes Hogue said of the city's actions against property owners who have left lawns uncut. "People are cleaning up." "I've noticed that the town is beginning to look better," council member and committee chairman Jim Furgason said.

While Williams has been carrying out the required notification procedures to address properties in violation in which owners could not be identified and located by code enforcement officer Warren "Bud" Norman, other properties in need of mowing and cleanup were also brought up by committee members.

News, Pages 1 on 07/29/2009