If property owners don’t mow yards, the city will — for a price

Vincent Marchisotto lives in Yancyville, N.C., but also owns an empty house in Danville — one that he has just been charged $170 for the city to mow.

“I have no intention of paying the bill,” Marchisotto said, which he said he considers excessive.

Marchisotto claims he has repeatedly contacted the city, asking them to notify him by e-mail when the lawn needs cutting. He said he feels this is a reasonable request, even though City Code requires he be contacted by mail, in person or through simply having a notice posted at the property.

Barry Doebert, director of the administrative division of Public Works, said the City Code states how they are allowed to contact owners of properties that have become overgrown, and his department takes it even a step further, sending the mailed notices by certified mail, so they have a signature that proves it has been received.

“We don’t notify by e-mail because there is no guarantee that it has been received and read,” Doebert said.

Doebert said over the course of a summer the city mows about 2,000 lawns, some of which are repeats for absentee property owners. The owners are billed the cost of the mowing, which is done by a contracted lawn service, plus a $100 administration fee. The amount charged for the mowing varies, depending on the size of the lawn and the difficulty in mowing it.

The $100 administration fee is fair, Doebert said, because of the amount of time and paperwork it takes to legally go on someone’s property and mow their lawn.

For the process to begin, there has to be a complaint from a neighbor, or a code enforcement officer has to spot a problem yard and begin the paperwork.

If the lawn has grown to a 12-inch height, a letter is mailed to the owner telling them the property must be mowed. If the letter is received and the lawn is still not mowed — or if the letter is refused — a sign is posted on the property warning the owner that he has seven days to mow it, or the city will.

If that still doesn’t result in the lawn being mowed, the city will arrange to have it mowed, and invoice the property owner.

Paperwork is filed every step of the way, and photographs of the property in question are taken before, during and after every city-authorized mowing job is done.

Because of the time it takes to send the letters and post the notices, the lawn could be 18-24 inches high before the city can finally steps in and mows, Doebert said.

“We want to give the owner every opportunity not to have us on their property,” Doebert said.

Doebert said this “weed abatement” program is just one of five code enforcement areas former City Manager Jerry Gwaltney assigned to public works about eight years ago.

“He didn’t like how the city looked and wanted it cleaned up,” Doebert said.

Public Works also oversees code enforcement at junkyards, enforces rules about removing inoperable vehicles and illegal accumulation of trash on properties and removes hazardous trees.

All of these services incur fees that can result in liens against the property if they are not paid. If those charges ultimately add up to 50 percent of the property’s assessed value, the city can “capture” the property, Doebert said.