Council considers cutting notice period for weed and grass violations from 10 to 5 days; residents urge keeping 10 days

The Michigan City Common Council on March 4 considered an ordinance to amend the municipal code governing removal of weeds, grass and raised vegetation by shortening the notification period from 10 days to 5 days.

Councilwoman Moldenhauer, sponsor of the ordinance, said the intent is to streamline citation and abatement and to reduce the period between notice and enforcement, particularly where overgrown lots create hazards or damage public equipment during municipal cleanup. "10 days was way too long," she said, arguing a shorter window helps crews act before conditions worsen.

Several members of the public urged the council to retain the existing 10-day period. Paul Snow and Gladys Street told the council that five days is too short to arrange work, appeal a citation or to account for residents who are out of town or have limited ability to respond. Snow asked the council to hold a workshop to review application and due process; he said he had experienced inconsistent enforcement and stressed that application matters as much as changing the ordinance.

Scott Mellon suggested a different approach, saying the city could consider an even shorter three-day period for cases that have already reached the citation stage because those situations commonly represent ongoing hazards. The transcript records a range of opinions during public comment; councilmembers asked the sponsor to have the city forester or code official return to explain details and to answer questions about whether the five days are counted as consecutive calendar days.

Council members held the ordinance over to the next meeting for further briefing and to allow the forester or the ordinance author to attend and respond to practical and due-process questions.