In the past few weeks Brookfield Village President Michael Garvey has taken it upon himself to cut a few of the overgrown yards that dot Brookfield.
“I’ve cut two or three lawns within a week or two,” Garvey said on Monday.
But the lawn-mowing service of the village president will probably be coming to an end soon as the Brookfield village board appears poised to adopt an ordinance that would authorize the village to pay a contractor to trim overgrown yards and then slap a lien on the property to recoup the cost of the work.
The village board discussed the proposed ordinance at Monday’s committee of the whole meeting at Brookfield village hall. Assistant Village Manager Keith Sbiral estimated that there are about 15 to 20 yards that have become unsightly.
Brookfield’s property maintenance code requires that all exterior property be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of eight inches.
Brookfield is experiencing an increase in the number of vacant properties with an overgrowth of weeds and grass, according to a memo to the village board prepared by Village Planner Meena Beyers.
“It’s been an ongoing issue,” Sbiral said.
The problem is exacerbated by the number of foreclosures that have occurred as the housing market has tanked. Sometimes when a bank forecloses on a property it does not bother to cut the grass.
Sbiral said that there were currently 88 properties in foreclosure in Brookfield and another 67 in the pre-foreclosure process.
Vacant 25-foot lots are often neglected by their property owners, and sometimes owners just don’t maintain their property, Garvey said.
Under the proposed ordinance, which will be voted on at the June 22 village board meeting, the village would pay a contractor to cut the grass or trim the weeds. Then the village would slap a lien on the property and collect the cost of the yard work when the property is sold.
This procedure is permitted by a law passed by the Illinois General Assembly that went into effect in August of 2007, according to Beyer’s memo.
Before trimming the overgrowth the village would have to give the property owner notice of its intentions and place a large lawn sign at the property stating that the property is violating village code. The property owner would then have a right to a hearing after a citation is issued.
It could take four to six weeks after giving notice and putting up the sign before the case is adjudicated and the lawn is cut, but that would still be faster than the current process.
One trustee expressed the hope that just putting up the sign would be enough to force most property owners to take care of their yards.
“I think the sign alone might do it,” said Trustee Michael Towner.
Currently the village relies on fines and trying to locate a property owner in order to tell him to take care of the yard. Village employees cannot trim the yards because of liability issues, Garvey said.
In addition to the liens allowed under the proposed ordinance, property owners will remain subject to fines of as much as $750 a day for violation of the property maintenance ordinance.
“It gets very expensive, very fast,” Sbiral said.
An advantage of the new ordinance would be that neighbors would know that the village is taking action against unsightly yards, Sbiral said.
One drawback would be that the village would not be able to recoup the cost of trimming the vegetation until the property was sold. The village could also file an additional lien to collect accumulated fines.
But Sbiral estimated that there would only be five or six cases this summer where the village would actually have to hire a contractor to cut the grass and or trim the overgrown vegetation.