The Kokomo Board of Public Works and Safety on Aug. 13 agreed to reset a public hearing on property maintenance at 920 South Elizabeth and will reinspect the site on Sept. 3 at 10 a.m.

The action followed a public hearing in which property owner Jerry Malone told the board he was concerned the city would remove ornamental plants while enforcing nuisance vegetation rules. “I'm worried that the city's gonna come and cut all my plants down,” Malone said. He confirmed his address as 920 South Elizabeth and said he lives at the site in his storefront.

Code-enforcement staff described complaints that vegetation from Malone’s property was encroaching onto neighbors’ yards, a front fence and the alley, creating a right-of-way obstruction. Staff said the normal process is to give a property owner notice and time to comply; if the owner does not, the city will abate the nuisance and place a lien on the property. Staff showed photographs of overgrowth and told the board that bushes and other plants were growing into the alleyway.

Malone told the board he had been instructed to mow and said he had cut the grass, but he said prior city cuts had removed fruit trees and elderberry plants, leaving bare dirt. He also said he was willing to trim what the city wanted removed. Staff identified some plants in the submission as elderberries and said there were not cherry trees in the current photos. Staff asked Malone to coordinate with code-enforcement staff (referred to in the meeting as "Chelsea") and with city records staff (referred to as "Mike") to document compliance.

To allow Malone time to address the complaints, a board member moved to reset the hearing to Sept. 3 at 10 a.m.; another board member seconded the motion and members voted unanimously to carry it. The board told Malone that if the property is not brought into compliance by that reinspection the city may abate the nuisance and assess a lien per the city’s established process.

The board did not cite a specific ordinance or statute during the hearing. The next step is the Sept. 3 reinspection and a subsequent hearing if staff determines the property remains noncompliant.

Malone, staff and the board agreed to use the intervening weeks to document the work and, if staff verifies the property has been cleaned up, the matter will be removed from the agenda.