April 30, 2008
Urban Jungle: Not Mowing Can Cost You Money
A couple of days ago Prince of Petworth posted this picture, along with a query typical of his highly observant neighborhood blog: what do you do when you have a neighbor or an absentee landlord who doesn’t mow the lawn?
According to a story in today's Examiner, the District is actually cracking down on these types of overgrown lawns for us. The city government issued nearly 1,400 citations last year to residents who failed to keep their lawns mowed and their properties free of weeds. The release of the figures coincide with the start of mowing season this year (did you know the city has a mowing season?), which begins tomorrow and lasts through Oct. 31. During this time, having a grass lawn or weeds more than 10 inches in height can lead you to get stuck with a $500 fine. And if you're feeling like playing neighborhood cop, you can always call 311 to have the city come out and issue a ticket to an offending property owner.
Typically though, the city issues warnings, resident takes care of the weeds, and no fines are ever actually assessed. But the story says that 446 times last year, the city put liens on properties that failed to comply, and then went out and trimmed the lawns itself.
If you're a renter, now would be an excellent time to review the terms of your lease. Many landlords who rent rowhouses in the District put clauses into their leases requiring tenants to take care of front and back yards, while most apartment building owners tend to mow and weed their properties for their tenants. Do you know if you're responsible for taking care of that weed problem yourself?
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Baltimore's cracking down on folks who don't mow. Apparently, rats just love nesting in this stuff. Who knew?
i prefer a mowed lawn myself, although my fine for it being unkempt is not monetary.
Yes, the city has allowed unpermitted construction work to continue unabaited at a rogue business, but they are now going to take the time and effort to warn and fine people who don't mow their law...awesome!
BTW, do those warnings/fines apply to the city's own properties?!
How much gas does the tank of an average mower use? And how much does it take to fill one up nowadays? Does DC have a manual or electric mower program?
can i call in the city for not keeping the weeds trimmed back in the median of rhode island ave?
LOL: "apply to the city's own properties" common sense is so ridiculous. The city cracks down on the things that matter most: parking meters and crab grass (only in your lawn).
How can you tell a difference between an neglected "lawn" and a carefully tended perennial dandelion garden? I mean really? Does this stem a city-wide crack down on any garden over 2 inches tall? Must all rat-backs be visible from the street at all times?
In all seriousness, I hate an untended yard as much as the next, but I am also a gardener who likes to get carried away and would not like people telling me my hibiscus and roses are too thick, doesn't this seem sort of "neighborhood-association-y"
The best solution for overgrown lawns is "one crazy guy with a lawnmower per every two city blocks" At least that has worked in my hood for decades.
Silly people. DC's laws don't apply to the DC Government, biggest slumlord and vacant property owner this side of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations.
A made do with a cheapo weedwhacker and an extention cord for years. But all that "keepin it ghetto" couldn't stop the raging wall of manure that is the scuppie menace.
Please, folks. Think of the poor rats, shivering and splashing around in the sewers filled with poo. All they ask is to nestle in the thickets of comfy and cozy unmowed weeds. Just think of it as a less-well-manicured version of Watership Down, only with more plague.
Trimming, whether applied to grass or pandas, is always a good thing.
ah, shaved amputee panda comments, how I missed thee.
I still say this is part of "the plan" to rid DC of triffids, ents, and Keebler elves. How's that for a "final solution?" No truffula fruit for you!
This kind of enforcement makes a lot of sense if you subscribe to the Broken Windows Theory. Of course, the theory has many critics; the WaPo's own Richard Morin among them.
Frankly, that yard looks a lot like the LEED (green) roofs popping up around town. Are we unwittingly building rat condos on K Street and above the concessions deck at the new stadium?
This is good news and about time. It is another way of dealing with vacant property owners who place the true cost of their neglect on the community. The Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, for example, spends much of its time during cleanups fixing the mess on and around the house photographed in The Examiner at 4th and M. Enforce the law and the environment will change, i.e. vacant properties must be kept in "habitable condition" and secure, and weeds, high grass, and trash/dumping can't accumulate. When the real expense of vacant properties is placed on the owners rather than their neighbors, they'll decide to renovate, rent, or sell. Otherwise, it will continue to be worth their while to sit on them - out of sight, out of mind.
I can't believe anyone would defend letting people's grass grow over ten inches high because of the cost of gas or because they think the government has better things to do. Tall grass not only makes a property look derelict and vacant, but it attracts rodents, traps trash, and is basically a crappy way to treat your neighbors and your city. If you can't afford to maintain your lawn, you should probably move - you have no business having one. An electric weedwacker, or a non-powered mower won't set you back more than about $85.
But how do they define weeds? I have a native wildflower meadow in my back yard that could be confused with an overgrown lawn, but it's hardly untended.
Julia- It's likely in practice defined as whether or not it's a public nuisance, aka whether it pisses most of your neighbors off. I don't think anyone would get away with claiming the lawn in the photo is a native wildflower garden. BTW- my front yard is done in clover (not grass) and wildflowers. But it's pretty clearly arranged and (sort-of mostly) manicured.
This is a good thing. Does anyone really like seeing overgrown weeds framing the soggy couch beneath plywood windows?
@CarySilverman
Don't know if you live around 4th & M, but they've got another health problem over there related to neglect: feral cats. Bet I saw at least 50 on a quick bike ride around that interesection. Now if only we could train the CHUDs to take care of the cat problem and also serve as assistants to the helper monkeys in assless chaps...
mr. silverman: welcome to the wild and crazy comment section of dcist. i'm impressed. i'm willing to bet that we will never see mr. jack evans darken these doors...
I lived at the home photographed above (moved out in October), so I called the landlord and notified her that photos of her unmowed lawn were circulating on the internet. She said that she'd get someone out there to mow it posthaste.
Like most of life's problems, this is another one that has been solved by blogging.
Wish the city would take care of its own vacant properties. One such DC owned property on my block has weeds about 12 inches high.
Tall grass doesn't attract rodents, garbage attracts rodents. If you want to live in a place with a lawn gestapo, move to freaking Bethesda. Instead of doing this, they should crack down on non-sidewalk-snow-shovelers, who actually put people at risk rather than just offend the sensibilities of busybodies.
Tall grass doesn't attract rodents, garbage attracts rodents.
Good thing people don't throw garbage in tall grass.