Ballwin May Go After Lawn Mowing Violators Faster

Suppose you report a Ballwin neighbor for failing to keep his lawn cut. The city can take up to 10 days to investigate your complaint. The neighbor has up to five days to take care of the problem. If your neighbor doesn't do it, it could take the city another five days to come and do it.

That doesn't include any appeals the neighbor could file.

Ballwin alderman Mark Harder thinks that's too long. In a board of aldermen meeting this week, he urged his colleagues to consider tightening regulations so unkept lawns and yard weeds don't drag down property values and create unsightly streets.

"It's kind of a pet peeve area for me," Harder told fellow aldermen on Aug. 20. Later, he told Patch: "I have noticed the grass and weed problem on some owner-occupied homes, bank-owned homes and rental properties in the Ballwin area for some time. These violations have been reported to me by residents as well as from my observations as I travel around the city for my business."

Sometimes, he said, residents aren't even aware that a swale or a road-side strip of property is their responsibility to maintain. And for some properties, it's difficult for the city to track down who is responsible.

Harder said Chesterfield's code enforcement ordinances might be a model for Ballwin to follow. Under Chesterfield's laws, the city could step in and take care of problem properties in fewer than 10 days.

In Chesterfield, once a report comes to the city, a code enforcement officer inspects the property and a notice is sent to the property owner or posted on the front door setting a hearing date four days out.

If the grass is not cut within five days of the hearing date, the city hires someone to do it at the owner's expense, according to Chesterfield Code Enforcement Inspector Curtis Krusie.

The Ballwin board of aldermen agreed to investigate Chesterfield's ordinance and consider ways to tighten its regulations at a future meeting.

"One of these poorly kept homes on one block makes the whole block less appealing to the other residents, thus affecting their property values," Harder said. "I would encourage more residents to report properties with high grass and weeds to the city for correction."