City board rejects taller grass, parking in yards

HOT SPRINGS — The Hot Springs Board of Directors unanimously opposed ordinances last week seeking to relax the restriction on grass height and repealing the prohibition on parking on unapproved surfaces.

The city planning and development department recommended increasing the allowable maximum grass height on developed property from 6 inches to 10 inches and repealing the regulation against parking vehicles on lawns or landscapes.

Earlier this year, the board had asked for a review of the city’s property maintenance code.

The department told the board in June that it was studying what other cities were doing. It found that Hot Springs’ regulations on grass height and parking were among the most stringent when compared with Benton, El Dorado, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Pine Bluff and Russellville.

In July, the board balked at the recommendations, pulling them from the agenda of its July 2 business meeting, but decided at its biannual retreat last month that the public’s level of interest on the issues required it to weigh in.

District 1 Director Erin Holliday said last week that 80 people participated in an online survey that she conducted to gauge public sentiment on loosening the regulations. The grass height issue elicited the most interest, she said.

At the board’s August meeting, she said 60% of survey respondents favored raising the height from 6 inches, but 73% opposed relaxing it to 10 inches or higher. Numerous city residents on both sides of the issue addressed the board last week.

Proponents of the higher limit said the current 6-inches limit is not evenly enforced across the city and is a hardship for some elderly residents. People who supported the 6 inches limit said grass becomes a public health and safety nuisance at 6 inches or higher.

The board voted 7-0 to maintain the 6-inch maximum.

City Manager Bill Burrough reminded the board at the retreat that a nonprofit lawn care service is available to help improve compliance.

The RA Psychle 4C program helps homeowners who are physically or financially unable to maintain their properties while also providing job training for atrisk youths.