Now
Light Rain
86°
High
91°
Low
73°
Full Forecast

Jobs

Cars

Homes

Rentals

Alerts

Subscribe
Home > News > Local
Bookmark Us   •   Make Us Your Homepage

Change to weed ordinance cut down

Comments 34 comment(s)  
E-mail Story E-mail Story
Print Story Print Story
Share  Share
Text Size: 
Tools Sponsor

By CORY MATTESON / Lincoln Journal Star

Monday, May 19, 2008 - 05:20:14 pm CDT

The many people who spoke, called and e-mailed in opposition to easing weed abatement regulations can now relax, at least until their yards get too shaggy.

The Lincoln City Council voted 6-0 to keep the maximum height for weeds and other “worthless vegetation” at six inches. The superintendent of the office in charge of enforcing that code had asked that the maximum be increased to 12 inches.

“I think this is the wrong kind of change to make,” Councilman Jonathan Cook said.

Story Photo
Weed inspector Jim Kearney checks property at North First Street and West Belmont Avenue for thistles on May 9. (LJS file)

He noted that members of the public who spoke about the issue during last week’s council meeting — 13 in all — all requested the rule remain as is.  

Council members also said the public offered good ideas about how to better notify property owners who have been lackadaisical about toward yard care.

Those ideas included sending postcards or hanging notices on violators’ doors.

“We’re pleased that Council listened to the public and folks that are dealing with this on a daily basis,” said Michael Snodgrass, executive director of NeighborWorks Lincoln.

“I think some good came of this,” said Councilman Ken Svboda, who introduced the proposal.

Lancaster County Weed Control Authority Superintendent Russ Shultz wasn’t at the afternoon meeting to see the change he proposed voted down.

He said he understood why people didn’t want to ease the rule, though he noted that the photos of unsightly property that the public brought to last week’s hearing would still be problems if the ordinance had been altered.

“All those were talking about severe situations,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing we need to be dealing with.”

Shultz said perhaps the city could assist in producing education campaigns with neighborhood groups, letting them know that severe violators are the ones that need to be called in, and that when a yard does get mowed, that update needs to be called in, as well.  

He said he and his three inspectors would continue to respond as best they can to calls from the public. He and the inspectors make about 5,000 inspections a year, he said.

“It’s not that we can’t continue with the program; we can’t do everything.”

Reach Cory Matteson at 473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com.


$1 Sunday Delivery - Subscribe Today!
Local > Back to Top of Story

Post Your Comment

Standards and Rules
All posts to JournalStar.com are subject to our Terms and Standards.
Your posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.
(optional)
   
Hide Comments Hide Comments   Newest First Newest First  
mark wrote on May 19, 2008 5:43 pm:
" good news. "

 Scott wrote on May 19, 2008 5:44 pm:
" The city has plenty of weeds on its own property to inspect. Weeds along various bike paths etc. are over 12 inches now. Apparently the city's mowing season doesn't start until June. I for one have no problem with this, but I'd expect nearby homeowners get a lot of blowover that they don't appreciate. "

 WEED wrote on May 19, 2008 6:09 pm:
" The average Gas powered lawn mowers are not capable of cutting 12" tall grass. Try cutting grass or weeds that are 8" tall. Not going to work so well. "

 CS wrote on May 19, 2008 6:15 pm:
" I find it amazing that lincoln residents get their undies in a twist over GRASS. If your yard was supposed to look like a golf course, it would BE one. I think Ill till my SOUTH LINCOLN yard up and plant native grasses just to tick all of you off when you drive by. I love people whose social responsibility extends only so far as the size of the check they can write, rather than doing some little things that actually make a difference. "

 dewboy wrote on May 19, 2008 8:58 pm:
" Finally, a smart move from the City Council. Get serious on REPEAT OFFENDERS = HEAVY FINES. Including Parks and Rec. "

 ..... wrote on May 19, 2008 9:00 pm:
" right on CS!!! "

 Lee wrote on May 19, 2008 10:03 pm:
" Wow, we have that little to think about that we obsess over weeds. Come on people, what about worrying about the things that really matter? We've got a recession, staggering gas prices, crimes like burglery, drugs such as meth and we are setting standards for how tall the grass should be. Forward focused thinking people!! "

 Solution wrote on May 19, 2008 10:26 pm:
" I think we should use the cut high weeds and such and use them to build a thatch roof for the new super-deeeeelux Haymarket Quanset-Hut Jon Camp memorial boondoggle! "

 Sylvia wrote on May 20, 2008 8:44 am:
" If the grass is that high, at least we know they aren't watering it too. "

 weed wacker wrote on May 20, 2008 8:48 am:
" Parks and Rec and City should LEAD BY EXAMPLE "

 Big Chief wrote on May 20, 2008 9:09 am:
" What a weird world we live in. Ethanol is a huge bugaboo that is creating all kinds of havoc in the World according to critics. Then we have one of the largest sources of pollution and total wastes of resources, A GREEN LAWN. If all those green lawns were planted into corn they could make enough Ethanol to power who knows how many vehicles. Oh wait a minute, several hundred of those green lawns around the edges of Lincoln were cornfields just a few years ago! Now that is progress! "

 Jeff from AZ wrote on May 20, 2008 9:19 am:
" I just visited Lincoln this last weekend and I was shocked and disgusted at all of the weeds in yards and parks. I've always been very proud of my home town and would love to move back some day (convincing my wife is another story), but after seeing how run down the city now looks (including lots of pot holes, unpainted homes, trash, graffiti), I no longer have that desire to move back. Once the neighborhoods start to fall apart, then it will only get worse. "

 pjb wrote on May 20, 2008 9:51 am:
" I would love to join you, CS and that would make 2 such yards in SOUTH LINCOLN! I have so many more valuable things, i.e., volunteering, to do with my time then to spend every weekend manicuring my yard. "

 hmm wrote on May 20, 2008 9:57 am:
" If you have nothing better to do than look for overgrown lawns, you need a hobby or a job. "

 TO CS wrote on May 20, 2008 10:38 am:
" what do you think would happen to the value and the curb appeal of your "SOUTH LINCOLN" home if one or more of your nieghbors didnt care for thier lawan and it was allowed to over grow. I for one have had to deal with it in the past. no one wanted to buy a "33RD and R STREET" house until i finally went and had someone do something about it. IE the law. But then again i dont have to deal with this issue in my SOUTH LINCOLN home either. "

 bobo wrote on May 20, 2008 10:43 am:
" Whatever, are there not higher priorities then weeds? How much do we spend on this? Maybe that money could be sent to CLC instead of cutting it?

The people who want to cut CLC are probably the first people in line to tell there neighbors how to live. "

 Pride wrote on May 20, 2008 11:01 am:
" I have plenty to do, plenty to care about and little I can do to change many things. I take pride in my home and yard because they are mine and I am proud of the way them and the way they look. I do not need your weeds spreading seed in my yard because you don't care! "

 love my yard wrote on May 20, 2008 11:41 am:
" It is not about telling your neighbors how to live or being overly picky. IT is about keeping neighborhoods looking clean and keeping weeds under control. When grass is allowed to grow the field mice move in, the garbage collects and the dandelions take over. IF you don't care about your property or won't take the time to mow your grass then you must not care about your home or your neighborhood. There is something called "PRIDE in Ownership" that comes into play here. "

 Fed up neighbor wrote on May 20, 2008 11:49 am:
" I live beside one of these unsightly lawns in a nice part of south Lincoln. My neighbor was turned in by someone (not my husband or me) the end of last summer for not mowing his back yard for over a year and a half. He now has not mowed it again this year so far and the thistles and weeds are over 12 inches high and are spreading into my property. His laziness is now costing me extra money to keep my yard half way nice. I hope the city will check up on the people that have violated this in the past. "

 Bill wrote on May 20, 2008 2:44 pm:
" Plant a native shortgrass prairie mix in your lawn. You won't ever have to mow it, you'll reduce your carbon impact in the world and you won't have to pay $4 a gallon in gas for your mower or pay for a $1000 mower.

It's soon to be the way of the future. Golf courses are doing it more and more off the fairways (Firethorn is a great example with their brome grass rough). I think all city courses should start doing this. No mowing 5 yards off the fairway. It'll save thousands of dollars per year. "

 D wrote on May 20, 2008 2:49 pm:
" A manicured lawn... something that we can thank the French for. It's too bad English gardens didn't catch on in the America's like it should. Then we wouldn't have the big waste of time such as mowing lawns and more gas going for something so worthless. "

 Are you kidding me wrote on May 20, 2008 2:52 pm:
" We actually pay for three guys to inspect lawns? Simply a rediculous waste of tax dollars. "

 Kristen wrote on May 20, 2008 3:18 pm:
" I think the funniest thing about this is that one of the places I have seen the highest weeds is at the city owned lot at 48th & O. Can the city fine themselves? "

 Doug wrote on May 20, 2008 3:43 pm:
" I take pride in my Nebraska property. Pride in my native greater than 12 inches clumps of Nebraska Big Bluestem. Pride in my Buffalo grass. Pride in the work that it took to make my landscaping Nebraskan, not Kentuckian, not English, not European. Pride in the water I save. Pride in the biodiversity that I I have around my urban home. Yet my neighbors look down on me for my choice to be a true Nebraskan. My lawn is relatively low maintenance, but look into the mirror before you call me lazy. "

 to CS wrote on May 20, 2008 4:13 pm:
" because others take pride in different things then you do gives you the right to be all mighty? I volunteer, work full time and play various sports and guess what? I still have time and take pride in my yard. I don't think you have a right to discredit anyone because of GRASS. Maybe you should do what you speaked of, then see if you can sell your house. I betting you will have to re-sod. "

 CS wrote on May 20, 2008 6:53 pm:
" Im not selling my house-I bought my house to live in with my family, not as some sort of hedge investment. Short of 56th and Hwy 2 enroaching on my neighborhood in College View, I have no reason to sell my home. Add on? Sure. Repaint? Absolutely, at some point. But anal-ize over my grass because someone in Pine Lake might be offended? Good luck. I don't think of my house as 'curb appeal'. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less-worry about your own house. "

 pjb wrote on May 20, 2008 8:51 pm:
" I mow my lawn and keep my yard neat but not manicured. Because I have pets that love to run in my back yard, I don't use poison on my yard. AND my pets keep away any creatures I may not want in my yard. I also don't sprinkle or spray poisons on my yard because of the ducks, geese, fish and who knows what other of God's creatures hang out in and around the lakes in my area. I water naturally--it's called rain. When there's no rain, my yard goes dormant--it's all called going with nature. "

 COncerned Homeowner wrote on May 20, 2008 9:10 pm:
" TO those who have the manicured lawns-
If you use hazardous sprays and fertizers that require children and animals to stay off for 24 hr, I want you to post large signs and keep the sidewalk clear of the pellets. I find the pellets just as annoying as tall weeds. It is about being responsible in ALL ways. It is funny that the manicured lawns here in the Highlands use the chemicals and happen to be watering the street but hey they have a manicured lawn. Way to think about the environment. "

 New grass wrote on May 20, 2008 9:16 pm:
" Don't worry... in 10 years most of lincoln will have to re-sod to a grass that requires little or no moisture (buffalo grass), or choose to zeroscape. Last time I checked Omaha is getting ready to start taking a huge amount of water from the Elkhorn River Valley for west Omaha (plant on 250th and Q street almost done after 4 years of construction). Where does Lincoln's water come from??? Yeah... downstream from there.

You think water restrictions the past 5 years have been bad??? Get ready to watch your kentucky blue and fescue mix suffer. As it should in this area being non-native. Those with buffalo grass won't have to resod, the ones with the fescue mix will. It's happening in Denver and soon will happen here. "

 Dano wrote on May 21, 2008 8:29 am:
" I was doing the math on the inspections. Let say there is 6 month window on the yard season for the calculations:

5000 inspections / 6 months = 833 inpsections per month.

833 inpsections / 3 inspectors = 278 inspections per FTE per month

There are an average of 21 working days per month, so with that said:

278 inspections / 21 days = 13.25 inspections per day per FTE

13.25 inspections / 7.5 hours = means they need to do 1.75 per hour or equal to 1 inspection takes 34.5 minutes (which includes travel)

Now I am no genius or anything, but I would hope there is some particular plan that would divide the city into some quadrants or something, to eliminate wasteful travel and plan some daily routes. I know we had one on the lawn crew I worked for in college (10 years ago) so I would hope the city has something similar. It seems like this is a bit long per inspection. I would think this could be better, but maybe I am wrong.

Can't you pretty much tell within 5 minutes, that it is bad? Is their seom formal paperwork that takes 20 minutes to do? If there is, think we can shorten that? I know 3 poeple and a supervisor isn't much, but it sounds a bit inefficient. "

 K. wrote on May 21, 2008 12:37 pm:
" All of you people complaining about unperfect yards did you ever take a second to think maybe the reason why their yards are the way they are might be because that person has trouble doing it on their own or trouble paying somebody to do it? If you care so much about your neighborhood and the way it looks why don't you get off your high horse and HELP the people in your neighborhood? My older neighboors next to us mow their own yard but its much easier for me to offer to help do it for them in 15 minutes than them spending every ounce of their energy to do it in 45. A human act of kindness goes a long way...pay it forward "

 SJL wrote on May 21, 2008 2:09 pm:
" I think the only thing wasted here was the time used to try and get this passed. Why bother when they don't enforce the 6 inch rule as it is? I for one, get irritated when neighbors don't mow. I'm not asking for them to have manicured lawns, just keep it mowed. It doesn't take that much time and it's good exercise. I not only mow my lawn, but I travel to another town and mow for my Mother also. If you live next to an elderly person, by all means, help out once in a while. They will appreciate it. "

 wow wrote on May 21, 2008 8:47 pm:
" People! Just mow your lawn! There is no moral or ethical or philosophical battle here, if you own a house and yard, just keep the grass cut. It doesn't have to cost thousands or take hours of your weekend, just keep the grass cut so that it looks like this town has a little bit of pride left. Seriously, if everyone did this, we wouldn't need lawn inspectors to ticket anyone for it, so problem solved. I can't believe this is worth arguing over. "

 dewboy wrote on May 21, 2008 9:19 pm:
" A MAJORITY of the inspections amount to nothing more than a driveby. A MAJORITY of violations are REPEAT offenders. Lawns DO reflect on home sales values. "

Ads by Yahoo!

More Stories In Local