(9/27) At its September 12 meeting, the Emmitsburg Town Council approved modifications to the grass and weed ordinance to allow the town to mow a property’s lawn if the property owner fails to respond to notices of violation in a predetermined amount of time.

Under the current system, the town places notices in the form of door hangers to inform property owner to mow their grass when it exceeds eight inches. However, not all property owners respond to the gentle reminders. If action is not taken by the property owner upon initial notification, a certified letter is sent 15 days later, and again at 30 days if there is still no response. If the property owner still fails to respond, the only recourse, currently, is for the town to issue $75 citations, Town Manager Cathy Willets said.

Once a citation is issued, the property owner has 15 days to request a court date to dispute the citation and another five days to pay fines. If the resident ops for court intervention, the town cannot take additional actions.

In the past, it has taken up to ten months for the town to acquire an order of abatement from the Frederick County court system, said Town Planner Zach Gulden. "So you’re talking months of the Town being unable to enforce our mowing code," Willets added, noting the struggle for anyone who has lived next to a property with overgrown grass.

Over the past year, the town has issued 127 notices alerting residents that their lawns require mowing. Property owners have a week to comply with the first notice and the vast majority fulfills the obligation within that allotted time. Of the 127 notices sent out, only three property owners failed to mow their lawns in the required time period, Willets said.

Under the revised changes to the grass and weed ordinance, the town will continue to place door hangers on properties that need their lawns mowed, followed up with a single certified letter stating that if the lawn is not mowed within one week, a contractor will perform it on behalf of the town.

If the property’s lawn is not mowed a week after the certified letter is delivered, the town now has the option of mowing the grass and billing the property owner for the mowing.

Adjoining neighbors generally produced the mowing complaints that led to the notices, but they also come from staff observations. "Nine times out of ten they are abandoned properties," Willets said.

If the town staff mows the lawn, a certified letter will be sent to the property owner with a bill for the mowing.