Bumper crop of weeds could get property owners clipped

A wet spring is yielding a bumper crop of weeds and tall grass in El Paso County and Colorado Springs, and property owners who don't mow could get clipped.

"This is a prime year for weeds to come up," said Ken Lewis, city code enforcement supervisor who noted the city received 316 complaints in the past two weeks alone.

City and county ordinances require property owners to keep weeds to less than nine inches. The laws are designed to prevent visual impairments at intersections, reduce debris blocking drainage channels and pipes and thwart fire hazards - tall weeds dry out and invite disaster, he said.

This year's weed complaints to the city have outpaced a normal year, during which the city gets 2,500 complaints, most starting in August, Lewis said.

The city's code enforcement officers provide a door-hanger notice to a violator to mow. The inspector returns in seven days. If the weeds and grass aren't mowed, the inspector can either give another warning or hire a contractor to mow the yard.

"If it's an elderly person, we can get in touch with Silver Key" to provide assistance, Lewis said. "If it's a vacant house, we'll mail a notice to whatever the last owner of record was."

He said banks that own foreclosed homes often aren't responsive to notices.

"We're not going to mess with people too long," he said. "After a couple of notices, we'll go ahead and mow the grass ourselves."

After the first inspection, for which there is no fee, property owners are charged $100 per inspection, plus the mowing charge, plus an administration fee that's 25 percent of the mowing charge.

"By the time they pay a couple of inspection fees and fees to mow the yard, it's going to be pretty expensive to get your yard taken care of," Lewis said.

He urged property owners to take responsibility and to help elderly or disabled neighbors as well.

"People just need to take pride in their neighborhoods," he said. "It's looking rundown around the city, and I only have eight code enforcement officers."

County spokesman Dave Rose said the county hasn't been flooded with weed complaints yet, but he expects a spike in coming weeks as weeds and grass shoot up.

He said the county's procedure, which can span two years, begins with a notice, which can lead to a hearing before county commissioners and then court action.

Only if weeds or grass pose a hazard does the county intervene by hiring a contractor to mow, he said.

"If it's causing some kind of a safety issue, we can deal with that expeditiously," he said. "But if it's just a nuisance, it can be a nuisance for quite awhile."

Rose said most code enforcement actions are resolved by contact, negotiation, diplomacy and persuasion.
To report weed and grass problems in the county, call 520-6300.

To report a city violator, call 444-7891 or go to springsgov.com and link to the Police Department's "forms and online services" section to fill out a code enforcement complaint.

Homeowners also could face penalties associated with homeowner association covenants regarding landscape maintenance requirements.
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Call the writer at 636-0238