(A) Prohibitions; definitions.
(1) All noxious weeds are prohibited. Each community has different weeds that are considered noxious. The code official should confer with the state or local agricultural agent to become familiar with weeds that are noxious in the community.
(2) Cultivated flowers and gardens are not considered to be weeds. The word “cultivated” is important.
(3) For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CULTIVATE. To loosen or dig (soil) around growing plants.
(4) Uncultivated gardens should be treated the same as weeds and tall grasses.
(5) The establishment of maximum heights for grass and weeds is necessary to reduce rodent shelters and pollen dust problems.
(B) Maintenance standards. It shall be the duty of every person who owns any subdivided land or land along public streets and roads or improved streets in common usage within the corporate limits of the city to cut, destroy, and remove from that land all weeds growing thereon and dead grass and brush thereon for a distance of 165 feet from the right-of-way line or front property line for metes and bounds parcels and to the depth of the lots or parcels, whichever is the lesser, and in platted subdivisions, site condos, and the like, the area between the edge of the traveled roadway and the right-of-way line shall also be included in the described process whenever they exceed 8 inches in height or whenever necessary to prevent them from going to seed and perpetuating themselves, as the case may be, or to prevent the dead grass and brush from becoming a fire hazard.
(C) Public notice. It shall be the duty of the City Clerk, in the month of April of each year, to post 3 printed notices, in conspicuous places within the city, and to publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the county giving notice of this section. The notice shall be substantially in the following form:
“To any Owners of Lands Situated in the City of Burton, Genesee County, State of Michigan:
Notice is hereby given that all noxious weeds growing to a height of 10 inches and all dead grass and brush on any subdivided land or land along public streets or roads or improved streets within the City of Burton, County of Genesee, and State of Michigan must be cut down, destroyed, and removed from such property for a depth of 165 feet from the right-of-way or front property line for metes and bounds parcels and to the depth of the lots or parcels, whichever is the lesser, and in platted subdivisions, site condos, etc., the area between the edge of the traveled roadway and the right-of-way line, on or before May 1, 20____, and maintained at a height of less than 10 inches to prevent such weeds from going to seed or to blossom, as the case may be, and to prevent such dead grass and brush from becoming a fire hazard.
Failure to comply with this notice on or before the above mentioned date shall make any party so failing liable for the costs of cutting, destroying, and removing said weeds and dead grass and brush by said city, said cost to be levied and collected against said lands in the same manner as other taxes are levied and collected.”
(D) Recovery of costs. The City Clerk shall certify to the Mayor the publication and posting of the notices referred to herein and the Mayor or his or her designee may order the cutting and removal of the weeds, dead grass, and brush if the owner of the lands shall fail to execute his or her responsibilities as defined in subsection (B) above. The city may cut weeds as necessary and charge the costs to the property owner. The actual charges for this cutting, removal, or destruction shall be established based on costs as incurred by the city, and the City Council by resolution will set charges for administrative cost and penalty fees. The total cost of any work, as described above, shall be assessed against the land and collected in the same manner as other taxes are levied and collected.
(E) No person shall operate mowing equipment adjacent to a public street, in such a manner as to cause the discharge of grass clippings, vegetative material or other litter, to be disbursed or remain in the public street.
(F) The penalty for violation of this section shall be deemed a municipal civil infraction and upon a finding of responsibility shall be subject to the penalties set forth herein.
(Ord. 2021-1-91.01, passed 1-7-2021)