Quincy city code says grass must be kept under 10 inches
By EDWARD HUSAR
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The grass-growing season is in full swing. That means the complaints are piling up at Quincy City Hall.
Each year the city gets hundreds of complaints about neighbors who aren't mowing their lawns. The city responds by investigating. If the grass is 10 inches high or more, the city gives the owner three days to cut it. If nothing happens, a city crew will cut the lawn at a rate of $60 per hour and send a bill to the property owner.
"It's all complaint driven," explained Chuck Bevelheimer, Quincy's director of planning and development.
And the complaints are plentiful.
According to Bevelheimer, the city's Inspection Department last year received 1,927 nuisance complaints. About 60 percent of them -- roughly 1,156 -- were related to grass being too high. The remaining 40 percent were for garbage, litter and debris problems.
The city code says grass must be kept under 10 inches. Bevelheimer said most property owners keep their lawns well below that height. But not everyone follows the rules -- especially in the spring when warmer weather and plenty of rain typically cause a growth spurt in grass.
"In the spring, you can generally bet that if you don't cut your lawn at least every two weeks, you're going to have a lawn longer than 10 inches in length. That's when we get a lot of the complaints from the neighbors," Bevelheimer said.
The city responds to each complaint by dispatching a nuisance abatement inspector to measure and photograph the lawn. If the grass is indeed 10 inches or more, the owner will be given three days to cut it. If no action is taken, a work order will be issued to have a city crew cut the grass.
Bevelheimer said city crews are often unable to respond immediately because of pending work assignments they must finish first. "Sometimes it may be a week before we get a crew around to cut it," he said.
By then, he said, the grass might be 1 1/2 feet high -- or more.
"We have almost a hayfield to mow, and we're supposed to take lawn mowers through there. We end up having to weed-whack the lawn, and then we mow it," Bevelheimer said. "So (at $60 per hour) you can see where you can get a $120 bill in a heartbeat for cutting someone's lawn."
If the owner cuts the lawn before the crew arrives, no bill will be issued. However, if the crew does any cutting, an invoice will be sent to the owner, and a lien will be placed on the property if the bill isn't paid.
Last year, the city issued 425 work orders to resolve nuisances. Of those, 182 nuisances were abated by the owner before the city took action. The remaining 243 work orders were carried out, with bills issued for $50,920 -- an average of $209.55 per job.
Bevelheimer said many of the complaints involve rental properties.
"Often the same lawns that aren't being cut are the same properties that aren't being taken care of year-in and year-out," he said. "Often we'll find things like tires or other items that are harboring mosquitoes or pests or rodents."
When the city has to remove other nuisances, such as debris, additional charges may billed to the property owner.
The moral of the story is clear: "If you take care of your lawn, there shouldn't be an issue," Bevelheimer said.
-- ehusar@whig.com/221-3378
