Published: October 07, 2008 11:55 am         

Got weeds? County officials may be talking to you

Neglecters of lawn care beware — Elkhart County officials are watching you.

Such was the message delivered Monday by members of the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners when they agreed to pass a new Weed and Rank Vegetation Control Ordinance.

According to County Plan Director Bob Watkins, the new ordinance will require all residential property owners with parcels of three acres or less in the unincorporated areas of the county to cut and/or remove unsightly weeds and other rank vegetation from their properties within 15 business days of receiving a notice from the county.

If after that time the property owner has still not corrected the issue, Watkins said that the grass and/or weeds will then be cut by the county, with the cost of the service either billed directly to the responsible land owner, or added to the landowner’s next tax bill.

“It’s a tool,” Watkins said of the new ordinance. “I think it’s a better tool than we have available to us now.”

According to the ordinance, maintenance stipulations include “any and all plant life exceeding an average height of eight inches.”

However, Watkins noted that landscaped areas and gardens containing trees, ornamental grasses, flowers, agricultural crops, bushes and shrubs should not be affected by the ordinance unless such vegetation causes an obvious detraction from the appearance of the surrounding neighborhood.

Enforcement

As far as enforcement of the ordinance, Watkins indicated that most cases will be handled on a complaint driven basis, where action will not be taken unless an area receives a sufficient number of complaints to warrant the county’s intervention.

“I don’t want to be the county’s lawn service,” Watkins said.

One main concern raised during the meeting was the amount of homes currently in foreclosure in the county that are not being maintained due to the hard economic times.

In response to this concern, Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder questioned Watkins on who would be responsible for paying the cost of any yard work the county does on these foreclosed properties.

Watkins replied that under most circumstances, if a bank or other entity has taken over the property as part of the foreclosure process, that bank or entity is responsible for paying any cleanup fees accrued as part of the ordinance enforcement.