PETERSBURG – Upper Township is taking action to to clean up nuisance properties.
On Monday, July 28, the governing body authorized payments of $150 and $175 to James Wyers Landscaping for nuisance abatement at two properties identified by block and lot numbers only.
In each case, the township code enforcement officer issued a notice of violation, and after 10 days, the township acted to clean up the property.
The violations were related to Section 11-1.9 of the code, which deals with grass, weeds and debris on property. The cost for the removal will be provided to the township tax collector and will be considered a lien against the property, becoming part of the taxes assessed.
In addition to the cost of the cleanup, the property owners are being assessed administrative fees, making the $150 now $180 and the $175 now $210.
Rich Kaczmarski, township code enforcement officer, said that although the township is not out to rule with an iron fist, there are quite a few properties where the township has to take action.
“The vast majority of them are for overgrown grass,” he said.
Kaczmarski said in many cases the properties that were in violation have out-of-town owners who do not visit often enough, or who do not hire a service to keep their grass cut.
“We understand, when a ton of rain, I keep it in mind that it keeps homeowners from cutting their lawns; the landscapers, too. Or if it rains on the weekend,” he said.
Kaczmarski said there are more than 6,000 properties in Upper Township, so they generally only cite the more egregious cases, when the grass gets over 10 inches long. He said it can take weeks to get that way, but they have encountered lawns with grass from 10 inches to waist-high.
Code Enforcement will issue a notice of violation and, sometimes, those notices are ignored. In such cases the township will more than likely take abatement action – grass-cutting or other property cleanup.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
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