June 5, 2006
Cut That Grass!
Living in a city comes with benefits and annoyances. Though many a city-dweller may be within walking distance of nightlife and urban excitement, they're also subject to any number of rules and regulations that are part and parcel of living close together -- lot occupancy limits, historic codes, etc. And since summer is upon us, so too are the rules governing how District residents must maintain their lawns. From a press release from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs:
Did you know uncut grass could cost you $500? Each year from May 1 through October 31 the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs enforces "seasonal grass-cutting" rules.While this may seem somewhat like a nanny-state controlling everything we do, we're rather the smell of freshly-cut lawns than allergies and rat attacks. Now if they could only establish a rule dictating when not to mow your lawn (read before 8 a.m. on a Saturday), we'd be happy campers.
Grass and weeds that are more than 10 inches tall could lead to fines. During growing season, property owners (commercial and residential) are required to maintain their premises in a healthy and sanitary manner, free of trash and excessive vegetative growth.Grass pollen is a common trigger for asthma and allergies. Keeping grass cut can be a part of an overall preventative strategy to control respiratory illness. Excessive growth can harbor rats and other vermin leading to serious public health implications.
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What would also be cool, to go with mandatory mowing, is a tool lending library. We had one in Oakland. And it was great, you could use your library card to check out a hammer, or a mower, or a saw, or table saw. I don't think it was actually run by the library -- put a community group -- but it was housed at the library. And was perfect for city living where storage (at your home) is of a premium.
DC1974, there is a tool library nearby (albeit, not in DC-proper):
City of Takoma Park Tool Library -
http://www.takomaparkmd.gov/publicworks/toollib.html
How about some enforced water regulations? No one should be watering their yard at noon on a hot muggy day.
Unless you're running a sprinkler for us to run through, shut that puppy down.
interesting considering that the park-like-fence-enclosed area by the georgia avenue metro stop has had grass well over 2 feet for quite some time.
Dear DC,
I know I have not cut my grass in quite a while. I've been busy lately. I promise to do it this weekend. To be fair, when I moved in, the yard was just a weed-strewn lot.
Sincerely,
Optimus Prime.
I noticed this morning they finally cut down that jungle at the georgia avenue metro station. Now, if only they would pick up the trash along Quincy Street adjacent to that property (owned by metro?). The apartment building on the north side of quincy seems to do a decent job of keeping their sidewalk and landcaping cleaned up. why can't metro do the same?
Considering DC residents pay for water by volume, they should be able to use it whenever and in whatever capacity they like. Feel like running a hose directly to the sewer? Go for it. Just don't bitch when the water bill comes due.
What's ridiculous is when water service is flat-rate, or so grossly over-subsidized that price provides no disincentive to usage. Then we get green lawns in Las Vegas and open irrigation in the Imperial Valley of California. Jack up the price of water and people will conserve.
While I comend the city in its effort to enforce the seasonal grass-cutting rules, I find it ironic that some of the worst offenders are public DC buildings/parcels. For the past 2 months, the Old Naval Hospital on Penn Ave. was a gigantic allergy inducing eye sore with 3 ft. high weeds growing through every piece of cracked concreate and on every inch of vegetation (although it was cleared very recently)
Thanks for having a picture of a reel (as opposed to a power) mower along w/ your post. For DC's generally small yards, they're much less expensive, much quieter, and much more environmentally friendly. Of course, you can't let the grass get above 6" or so...