Proposed weeds law awaits changes

City lawmakers will get into the weeds a bit more in developing a law to deal with overgrown lawns and vegetation that is too tall.

At a council caucus Monday, Alderman Douglas Koop said there isn’t enough clarity about what would constitute a violation.

“I’m already getting push-back on ... what’s a weed, what’s a noxious weed, and I think this needs more work,” said Koop, D-Ward 2. “What’s a weed, and what’s a cultivated garden? ... What is a weed to someone is not a weed to a real horticulturist.”

Koop suggested the proposal be sent back to committee for the inclusion of more specifics. The full council was to take up that recommendation Tuesday night. (That meeting concluded too late for inclusion in this article.)

The proposal, as currently written, says properties in the city would have to be “maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 10 inches in height” and that “noxious weeds shall be prohibited.”

It also says, “Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs provided, however this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens.”

Property owners who receive a notice of violation would have seven days to comply. Failure to comply would allow the city to hire someone to correct the violation and issue an invoice for the work, with unpaid charges added to property tax bills.

Alderwoman Maryann Mills noted some property owners are physically unable to maintain their properties, and she took issue with a recent Freeman photo showing a Washington Avenue property with tall grass.

“You don’t know what’s going on in everybody’s life,” said Mills, DWard 7.

The photo to which Mills referred appeared on Sunday’s front page and showed overgrowth at an unoccupied house. By Monday, the grass and weeds had been cut.

Alderman Reynolds Scott-Childress said the proposed law would give the city a way to begin enforcement.

“The main point here is that there are people who allow their grass to grow too high,” said Scott-Childress, D-Ward 3.

“The point of this is not the weeds,” he said. “The point of this is the seven days. The point of this is to give building inspection [an] adequate time period in which to actually enforce a crucial aspect of maintaining the order of our city neighborhoods.”

Alderman Steven Schabot, DWard 8, said there always are changing perceptions about what constitutes inappropriate vegetation.