Shaker Heights City Council heard detailed revisions and agreed to carry forward a revised landscaping ordinance to third reading after several committee reviews that sought to balance the city’s historic aesthetic with more sustainable landscaping practices.

Law Director Gruber outlined substantive changes to proposed Ordinance No. 20579 on second reading, describing new language adopted after input from the Safety and Public Works Committee, the Tree Advisory Board and the Sustainability Committee. Gruber said the amendments clarify what landscaping practices are allowed, revise height standards, define “noxious weeds” by reference to the Ohio Department of Agriculture list, and add care and safety standards for trees, stumps and ruts on private property.

The revisions matter, Gruber and several councilmembers said, because they are intended to preserve street trees, avoid nuisance conditions and give enforcement staff clearer standards to use. Gruber said the ordinance now permits “flower stems or stalks up to 36 inches in height in the tree lawn” while retaining a 24-inch general height limit for other vegetation in the tree lawn. He also described new language making “bare soil” in the tree lawn impermissible and adding a definition of noxious weeds consistent with the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s prohibited list.

The ordinance also directs removal or cutting flush of tree stumps within 180 days of a tree removal, with stated exceptions (stumps in naturally wooded areas, stumps that are part of a shared root system where removal would compromise a living tree, or stumps intentionally retained for ecological or decomposition purposes provided they are not visible from the public right-of-way). Gruber said the changes are intended to give staff specific, enforceable standards to address neglected vegetation that “interferes with walkways, driveways and structures.”

Councilmembers praised the drafting process and asked for practical implementation steps. Councilmember Bixenstein commended staff for balancing “the Shaker aesthetic and promoting sustainable landscape ordinances” and for adding a statement of purpose to the ordinance. Councilmember Nancy Moore said the revised language should give Public Works and the Law Department the “latitude” to enforce through the normal notice, appeal and board-of-appeals processes.

Several councilmembers urged careful public education before enforcement begins. Councilmember Claytor and others asked that the city’s communications team provide residents with clear, simple materials — including a web timeline linking committee discussion, a proposed web page rollout and possibly short demonstration videos — so people can see which practices are permitted and how warning and citation procedures will work. Gruber said staff and the CAO’s office are developing a webpage and a strategy that would include warning letters before citations are issued for newly actionable conditions.

On procedure, council members signaled general agreement that the ordinance, as amended, should remain on second reading and be considered again on third reading (the council suggested a target of the Oct. 27 regular meeting for adoption). There was no final vote to adopt the ordinance at this meeting; council consensus was to accept the amendments and carry the updated draft forward for formal third-reading consideration.

Next steps: staff will consolidate the agreed edits into a single document for third reading, publish a public-facing web page with links to committee deliberations and examples, and pursue an implementation plan that emphasizes warnings and education before citations.