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Planning staff brief committee on invasive plants, RV/boat parking and contractor to abate high grass; Board approval follows
Summary
Planning staff reported on complaints about invasive plants, trailer and recreational-vehicle parking, permit/inspection volumes and sought committee approval to award a grass-and-weeds abatement contract to MACC; the committee approved the contract 3-0 on roll call.
Brentwood — Planning and development staff reported April permit and enforcement activity and asked the Public Works Committee on May 8 to approve a contractor for city abatement of high grass and weeds when property owners fail to comply; the committee approved the contract and forwarded it to the Board of Aldermen.
Whitney Kelly, speaking for Planning and Development, told the committee the April packet showed 174 new permits and 871 inspections, and that code enforcement opened 90 new cases in April with 146 inspections. Kelly said the city ordinance requires owners to maintain grass and weeds at or below 7 inches and noted the department received a cluster of complaints about invasive species this spring. “The city's ordinance states that as long as the high grass and weeds are maintained at or below 7 inches, then that is sufficient,” Kelly said. She added that enforcement is limited to observations from public right-of-way unless a property owner grants access for inspection.
On nuisance plants, Kelly said the Missouri Department of Conservation lists many invasive species, and that removing plants that were planted by a prior owner can be difficult; staff suggested the most enforceable approach would emphasize maintenance (cutting back growth to prevent spread) rather than blanket prohibitions on species.
Kelly also briefed the committee on complaints about long-term parking of trailers and recreational vehicles. She said short-term temporary parking (three or four days) is generally tolerated and often resolved without a ticket; long-term parking remains a common complaint and can trigger a violation and five-day cure period.
Contract for abatement: The city issued an RFP and received a single bid from MACC (a contractor with experience working for MoDOT, the City of St. Louis and the Land Reutilization Authority). Kelly said the contractor’s equipment rate is generally in the $150–$350 range depending on equipment used and that contractors bill the city; unpaid invoices may become liens on the property. The committee moved to accept a three-year agreement with two one-year renewals pending reference checks; the roll-call vote recorded in the transcript was Chairman Lochmiller: Yes; Alderman McGough: Yes; Alderman Erker: Yes — motion carries 3–0.
Permits and inspections: Committee members asked about a high failure rate on first inspections for occupancy permits (Kelly said the first inspection is included in the fee and reinspection is common), and staff noted a published guide describing inspection expectations is available on the city website.
Next steps and public information: The committee asked staff to continue monitoring complaints, consider education and newsletter outreach about RV/boat parking and parking timeframes, and, if warranted, prepare ordinance language or tiered options for invasive-species maintenance for future consideration by the Board of Aldermen.
