Utah State University - » Weeds unwelcome in Nibley; city wants to bill lax land-owners

By Mitch Henline

NIBLEY –The City Council discussed a proposed ordinance that would give Nibley city the power to contract for weed removal on private property, and bill the property owners for the cost.

Currently, it is illegal for weeds to reach more than one foot in height. If a resident is found violating this restriction, they are given a written warning and 15 days to take care of the weeds. If after 15 days they are still in violation, a citation is issued. The new ordinance would allow the city to remove the weeds itself after the 15 days.

“This tends to be one of our most challenging summertime events,” Mayor Gerald Knight told the council at Thursday’s meeting. “We’ve talked about the need to provide a means to make it more easily enforced.”

There was some concern that because citations are issued by the sheriff’s office, some residents could end up in court if the citations are not resolved. While that is possible, city manager David Zook said most cases will not reach that far.

“Most of the time, people take care of their weeds on their own,” Zook said. “The next level is, we have to send them a letter and almost all of those will take care of it when they get their letter. If they still don’t comply, they get a citation. Almost all of them will take care of it once we give them a citation.”

Councilman Thayne Mickelson said he thinks a more proactive approach is needed.

“It is extremely hard to ensure that we’re not being selective on who we send these out to,” Mickelson said. “I would dare say that probably every one of us in this room at one point of time during the year has had a weed that has exceeded this – including the city. So here is a city who is out of compliance and we’re sending a citation to a landowner. Maybe one week we are good, but another week we are not. I don’t know if this is the answer.”

The council will continue to discuss the proposed ordinance at the next meeting.

NW