With the mowing season quickly approaching, the City of Galesburg would like to remind property owners of yard maintenance expectations. Per Galesburg Municipal Code Section 94 Nuisances, owners must keep all grass and weeds below 12 inches. This maintains the appearance of the neighborhood lawns and deters the presence of unwanted pests.
The City’s inspectors will typically respond to complaints about grass, weeds, and overgrowth violations within one business day. Complaints can be made by submitting a nuisance complaint through the “Report a Problem” portal on the City’s website or by calling (309) 345-3634 or (309) 345-3619.
Grass and weed violations are the city’s most common nuisance violations. The code states property owners or occupants are obligated to maintain their property, including the terrace, by mowing grass, trimming weeds, volunteer trees, and generally not allowing vegetation to grow wild. Property owners and occupants are given one notice per growing season when a violation is verified. The notice will state the given time for abatement.
If the property is found to be non-compliant upon reinspection, the City, or its designee, is authorized to do the work necessary, such as mow the yard, and send a bill to the property owner. The bill will include the actual cost for the work done as well as an administrative fee. Late fees are assessed if not paid by the stated due date on the bill and liens can be filed if the bill is further ignored.
If the property is found to be in violation again during the same mowing season, the city may proceed with correcting the violation without any additional notices and bill the property owner for each subsequent violation. For more information on grass and weed violations or any other nuisance violation, call Eric Heiden, Code Compliance Supervisor, at (309) 345-3634
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