For Athens residents who let their grass grow higher than eight inches, fines and city-funded lawn care may be right around the corner.
Athens paying to maintain lawns of non-mowing residents
Athens city officials set aside about $20,000 each year to mow your lawn.
Landscaping companies bid annually for the chance to mow privately-owned grass higher than eight inches within city limits.
If any Athens resident is found in violation of the eight-inch grass ordinance, the resident receives a “weed letter” requesting that his or her lawn be cut within five days — or else face a fine and a mow by the city’s selected landscaping company.
The city’s “curb appeal” has been a testy topic at Athens City Council lately, as council members have sparred over a proposed amendment to the city’s trash ordinance. Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl has threatened to veto the measure.
But keeping grass trimmed low is something Wiehl can sign off on.
“We’re a city, not a wilderness,” Wiehl said.
Since the beginning of the year, Athens Director of Code Enforcement and Community Development John Paszke said his code enforcers have written about 250 landscaping citations, which also include brush and tree limb violations.
Wiehl said most citations go to students, because some landlords require tenants to cut the grass themselves.
“I don’t know how many students bring lawn mowers to school with them,” Wiehl said.
Athens City Councilwoman Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, agreed that students are often the biggest perpetrators.
“Driving down a street that has both owner-occupied and rental houses, you can almost always tell which is which by the yard,” she said in an email. “In (rental) cases, when the grass gets out of control it stands out even more.”
Fines are tacked onto to utility bills, which once paid, returns to Athens’ general fund. Fine amounts are determined based on the size of the lot, but typically run up to $100.
Some residents have recently shied away from keeping lawns altogether, but Wiehl said it has little to do with prospective fines.
Wiehl called his constituents “very environmentally conscious,” saying some city residents are looking to alternatives from water and care-intensive lawns.
In 2009, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported that one hour of gas-powered lawn mowing causes as much pollution as four hours of driving a car.
“A lot of citizens are moving toward ‘new urbanism’ rock and plant garden lawns so that they don’t have to be cut, but it’s hard to get a balance so that the yard doesn’t look weedy,” Wiehl said. “They may just end up being deer food.”
Fahl, who’s sponsoring the current trash ordinance, is glad the city makes the $20,000 investment.
“I guess my wish … would be to have all house owners to take pride in their yard,” Fahl said. “I think if one looked into it the houses that have a nice yard, a yard that doesn't scream out rental, you get tenants that take better care of the house all around.”
Despite a law on the books and $20,000 stocked up for mowing expenses, Wiehl doesn’t see lawn care as a major issue for Athens residents.
“After getting charged once, they usually get in line,” Wiehl said. “The weed letter gives them an opportunity
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