Some Westmoreland communities use hands-on method to tackle overgrown grass
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Knee-high by the Fourth of July is the old adage for measuring corn.
But if the measurement refers to your neighbor’s lawn, the outcome might not be so sweet.
Overgrown properties are a recurring summertime problem shared by many area communities.
Greensburg resident William Weir can look across Harrison Street and see a run-down house with broken windows rising through a mass of overgrown shrubs and weeds.
The house has been an eyesore in the neighborhood for years, he said.
Like Greensburg, most area municipalities have code enforcement officers who issue warnings and fines about overgrown yards. If the problem persists, liens can be placed against a property.
In extreme cases, municipal employees have to roll up their sleeves and tackle the problem, or an outside contractor is paid to trim it back.
In Greensburg, property owners who let their grass grow above 6 inches high could face a fine of up to $1,000 if they are found guilty of the violation.
There are about 20 properties the city is monitoring to keep grass under control, said Jeff Raykes, director of planning and development.
“Those are properties where you know family members are deceased,” said Alycia Ferrett, one of two code enforcement officers for the city. “We’ve already done our due diligence, we have no contacts, we’ve run it through the court system, we have liens for demolition that has happened or will occur and, unfortunately, the city does have to take responsibility.”
That number has been on the rise and can fluctuate.
“With the economy, we’ve seen a lot of foreclosures, or, unfortunately, due to the pandemic, deaths,” Ferrett said.
This year, Ferrett has received a handful of complaints about high grass on properties that hadn’t been identified as problems before.
“Neighbors are the best enforcement, the best eyes on a property,” she said.
Most private properties that have made it onto the city’s grass-cutting list take less than an hour to tame with the combination of a weed trimmer and mower. An outside contractor has been used once this year.
“If we do need assistance with a third party, that means that the (grass) is pretty much waist-high,” said Ferrett, noting the contractor will make the initial cut. “Then we see if public works can take that on.”
This year, the city has spent about $150 on the grass-cutting tasks. That’s less than the costs at the same time in 2021, a year in which the total tab was roughly $2,600.
The enforcement staff works to recoup those expenses — through fines or liens, possibly when a vacant property is sold to a new owner.
Raykes said the city, having completed an inventory of property conditions in partnership with county planners, is working on a comprehensive blight mitigation strategy that would include vacant lots with high grass.
“What we have is kind of a patchwork of things that we’re doing to try to address blight,” Raykes said. “We don’t have a cohesive policy.
“The problem hasn’t gone away. We’re still figuring out how to deal with it.”
Councilman Greg Mertz noted overgrown grass often is a sign of more extensive problems on a property.
“It’s seems there are more cases now that somebody doesn’t live there and the home is in a poor state,” Mertz said. “I think most municipalities in the county have a similar problem. It’s just that we’re a city, so blight is a little more defined and a little more evident.”
“We know it affects property values, we know it affects quality of life,” Raykes said of high grass. “So, the city takes them on.”
Across the border in Allegheny County, Tarentum in March enacted a quality-of-life ordinance.
A violation of the ordinance triggers a $25 fine, which increases by $10 if it’s not paid within 15 days. If the violation isn’t corrected, the case may be filed in district court.
Council President Scott Dadowski indicated there may be 15 or more parcels that require attention for issues including high grass.
“We’re not looking to punish people, but maybe (the fine) is motivation for them to keep up their properties,” he said. “We work hand in hand with the public works staff and the code enforcement officer to make sure we are reaching out to landlords or residents, to get them to take care of their property before the borough is forced to step in.
“Similar to other local municipalities, we have a list of vacant properties that people do not take care of and we need to send out our public works crew to take care of. It definitely is an added responsibility in addition to everything else they have to do.”
As in Westmoreland County, Allegheny County has a program meant to help redevelop vacant properties.
“Our ultimate goal is to get properties off that list so that somebody else is performing the upkeep,” Dadowski. said.
If a vacant property is owned by a bank rather than an individual, it may be easier to get high grass issues resolved, Landy said.
“Banks don’t want to see the property leined, so they’ll usually send out someone to cut it,” he said.
Murrysville officials typically send out grass violation notices to between 15 and 25 properties each year, according to Chief Administrator Michael Nestico.
“Roughly half of the properties are abandoned or vacant properties,” he said. “Each summer we also face difficulties with a few properties listed for sale which do not have an active resident at the property.”
Last year, Murrysville mailed 13 notices of grass violations, of which five were returned to sender or undeliverable.
The municipality has set a maximum grass height of 10 inches in business and mixed-use developments, 12 inches in residential districts.
In 2021, Murrysville used a third party to cut grass on about a half dozen properties. None have received that treatment yet this year.
“We will lien the property to recoup the cost,” said Nestico. “Generally, the cost is not recovered immediately, but will eventually be recovered upon a sale or transfer of the property.”
In Youngwood, where officials are reviewing that borough’s ordinances, a high-grass violation carries a maximum fine of $300.
Most times, a letter is sufficient to get property owners to remedy grass infractions, according to borough manager Diane Schaefer.
She estimated about seven lots have grass issues each year.
“For the neighbors who live next to that, it is very frustrating,” Schaefer said. “They shouldn’t have to live next to that.”
In Jeannette, city officials recently boosted their efforts to curb high grass and other property maintenance problems.
In April, the city expanded the property maintenance officer’s work schedule from part-time to full-time.
Jeannette requires that grass be kept trimmed to no more than 10 inches high.
Ethan Keedy, Jeannette’s chief fiscal officer, noted the city daily may get anywhere from five to 10 complaints about property maintenance problems, including high grass.
When a complaint is verified, the property owner is issued a fine.
“The fine was $25 and we raised it to $50 in May,” said Keedy. “We wanted it to have a little more teeth.”
With owners now aware their properties are being scrutinized more closely , Keedy said, “It’s made a big difference in the number of properties that have been remedied and cleaned up.”
The city has been hesitant to send workers to cut out of control lawns.
“We’re not guaranteed to get our money back,” he said.