The following provisions shall apply to weeds and rank vegetation within the town.
(A) Administration. The Town Council shall be responsible for the administration of this chapter as provided herein.
(B) Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DESTRUCTION ORDER. The notice served by the Building Commissioner, or other duly appointed official of the town, or the Town Council in cases of appeal, on the property owner of the ordinance violation.
EXEMPT MATTERS. The Indiana Cooperative Extension Service shall be the referenced technical authority with respect to the definition of exempt matters, shrubs, trees, cultivated plants and crops.
PROPERTY OWNER. The owner of record of the property, the person occupying the property, or a person having control over the property of another, such as a right-of-way, easement, license, or lease.
RANK VEGETATION. The uncontrolled, uncultivated growth of annual and perennial plants.
WEEDS AND GRASSES. Canada thistle, thistles, Johnsongrass, sorghum, alum (such as allium), bur cucumber, and shattercane. WEEDS do not include shrubs, trees, cultivated plants or crops; however, in no event shall cultivated plants or crops include plants which have been defined by state statute or administrative rule as being noxious or detrimental plants.
(C) Maximum heights. No property owner shall allow any weeds, grasses, rank vegetation, or other uncontrolled plant growth on their property to exceed eight inches in average height on 20% or more of the surface area of the property.
(D) Abatement by the town.
(1) In the event that a property owner shall fail to comply with the destruction order within seven calendar days and has not filed a request for appeal as provided herein, the Town Council may employ the services of town employees or outside contractors and remove the weeds to conform to this chapter by all lawful means.
(2) Following abatement by the town, a continuous abatement notice may be posted at the property at the time of abatement, which shall serve as notice to the property owner that each subsequent violation of this chapter during the same year for which the initial notice of the violation was provided may be abated by the town.
(E) Cost of abatement.
(1) The property owner is liable for all costs of removal, cutting, destruction, and abatement of weeds, grasses, and rank vegetation as defined by this chapter, plus an administrative fee of $100.
(2) The property owner is also responsible for all costs associated with the abatement, including but not limited to notice costs, court costs, attorney’s fees, and interest on any unpaid amounts incurred by the town. If the town uses municipal employees for the abatement, it shall set and assign an appropriate hourly rate for employees, equipment, supplies, and chemicals which may be used.
(3) All sums payable by the property owner are to be paid to the Clerk-Treasurer and deposited in the general fund as compensation for expenses and costs incurred by the town.
(F) Appeals. A property owner may contest the finding of a violation or a destruction order by filing a written request for appeal with the Clerk-Treasurer within two business days after the notice is received. A property owner must demonstrate that the plants or vegetation in question are shrubs, trees, cultivated plants, crops, or other exempt matters, or that the plant or vegetation is not otherwise in violation of this chapter and not subject to destruction pursuant to the provisions herein.
(Ord. 2023-05, passed 7-11-2023)