Ypsilanti Township to set new lawn mowing fees that 'sting' absentee property owners

Last year, Ypsilanti Township ordered 563 lawns mowed on vacant properties at a cost of $29,552 to taxpayers.

It charged the property owners - mostly banks and out-of-town absentee individuals - around $5 per lawn, leaving residents to pay for a significant chunk of the cost.

With fees that low, officials say it's common for property owners to choose to let the township pay for mowing because it's cheaper.

But proposed new rates could curb that practice and motivate property owners to mow their lawns.

Mike Radzik, the township's director of the office of community standards, offered the Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees an ordinance amendment that would change the rate property owners pay to $35 per mowing, which he said was closer to the average cost.

But Trustee Mike Martin said that didn't go far enough.

"I don't know why we should be benevolent. I think we should (set the rate) to the point that it stings a little bit. Why not make it egregious enough that they flinch when they see that bill?" he asked.

Radzik said he would take another look at the fee and come back with a figure that covers all the cost of mowing, though no punitive costs would be included.

If approved, the ordinance amendment wouldn't impact homeowners who live in a house and aren't mowing their lawns.

Township lawns must be kept under eight inches, and ordinance officers typically write owners of an occupied house a notice of violation that's essentially a warning to mow the lawn.

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Ypsilanti Township to set new lawn mowing fees that 'sting' absentee property owners