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New Iberia council approves grass‑clippings ban with 60‑day public awareness period, $500 penalty as single incident
Summary
Council approved an ordinance banning the discharge of grass clippings and lawn debris into streets and storm drains, set enforcement to begin Aug. 2 after a public outreach campaign, and amended the penalty wording so a single unresolved occurrence — not an automatic daily fine — would be considered one offense.
The New Iberia City Council advanced an ordinance prohibiting the discharge or deposit of grass clippings and lawn debris onto public streets, sidewalks and storm drains and agreed to a grace/notice period before enforcement begins.
The ordinance, introduced as Ordinance No. 2025‑13, drew questions from residents and council members about enforcement, reporting and fines. A resident asked, "If it passes, who would the public call to say they're mowing the grass somewhere and that all the grass is going down the street?" Mayor Pro Tem Timothy Gosselin replied, "This ordinance will become a police issue. It will be an ordinance that they can enforce, but you can also call my office... Amber will be the one who answers the phone 90% of the time."
The text as introduced carried a $500 fine and a phrase that "each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense." Council members objected to automatic daily fines for the same incident and sought clearer language. Council discussion also emphasized public education: the mayor and council said they would use a media campaign including Facebook and billboards to notify lawn services and residents.
Council members debated how long to delay enforcement to give contractors and residents time to learn the new rule. After discussion the council amended the ordinance to set a citywide grace period until Aug. 2 before the ordinance is enforceable and to treat an uncured occurrence as a single offense rather than a daily repeating penalty. During debate a councilmember said, "I think 60 days because... when someone gets warned, these people all kinda know each other. They're gonna know. And after you find one, you probably won't ever find another one because the word could get out."
Other clarifications from the discussion:
- Enforcement: city police will enforce; residents may report violations to the mayor's office. Officials said video or photos will help as proof. - Penalty: the base fine is $500 per incident as written; council amended the text to avoid automatic daily compounding on the same incident. - Start date and outreach: council set an enforceable start date of Aug. 2 and directed a public outreach campaign (social media, billboards and targeted notices) during the notice period. - Occupational licenses: council noted lawn services generally do not need an occupational license that would allow the city to prenotify contractors; many mowing crews operate from outside the city, so the outreach effort is intended to reach non‑resident contractors as well.
The meeting transcript records motions to open and close the public hearing and a motion to add the August 2 start date and to remove the daily‑occurrence language; the transcript records the motion and multiple seconds but does not include the final vote tally in the provided text.
