The Greening of Auburn Hills

Posted by – Dale Mathes, Code Enforcement Officer

It’s that time of year again when Code Enforcement Officers concentrate on keeping the lawns and lots of Auburn Hills neat and trimmed.  Fortunately, the vast majority of Auburn Hills residents, businesspeople and property owners maintain their lots regularly.  However, there are numerous properties that are vacant due to foreclosure (although the numbers are on a downward turn.)  Sometimes, lots change hands and are forgotten about.  There are also some residents who just don’t cut the grass.

That’s where the City’s Grass and Weed Abatement Program steps in.  Any parcel where grass or weeds are over eight inches in length are advised via a Violation Notice, either stuck on the door or mailed out in the case of vacant lots.  The owner or occupant is allowed 72 hours to ten days to cut the grass.  If not, a City contractor will be assigned the task.  More often than not, the notice alone is sufficient to motivate the owner/occupant to comply.

In May of this year 134 notices were issued with 107 people complying.  This left 27 properties to be cut by contractors.  This compares to last year in May (following a very early Spring) of 198 notices issued, 140 complying and 58 cuts.

In June, 129 notices were issued and 83 folks complied resulting in 46 cuts completed.  June of 2012 was a scorcher and the grass was not growing as fast.  This resulted in only 63 notices, 40 compliances and 23 cuts.

Code Enforcement would like to thank those residents and owners who do their best to keep this City looking good.  Together we can keep Auburn Hills green and not overgrown.