By Trent Moore
The Cullman Times
CULLMAN — Cullman residents with very high grass and “junked up” property could soon be fined, as the city council has now adopted a revamped nuisance ordinance.
The ordinance could fine city residents with grass or weeds more than a foot high, as well as residents with wrecked or inoperable vehicles on their property.
“This ordinance is a law and you can be ticketed,” Cullman Mayor Max Townson said. “We are going to start enforcing it, so people with junked up yards and areas need to start cleaning up.”
Officers will allow a 14-30 day grace period to correct any issues. After that, potential fines could range from $50 to $500.
“First off, the officer will come out and write a warning and give a grace period,” Townson said. “If it’s not taken care of by the end of the grace period, that person will be given a ticket and have to go to court and the rest will be up to the judge.”
The reason cited for the new ordinance is that high grass and abandoned vehicles could be dangerous by providing breeding grounds and shelter for rats, mice, snakes, mosquitoes, and other vermin. The high grass could also be a fire hazard, or hide dangerous debris such as broken glass or metal, according to a recent version of the ordinance.
The proposed ordinance will also bar the “unsightly” storage of debris, refuse, rubbish, brush, used building materials, parts of uninhabitable structures and used machinery.
Townson said the city has three code enforcement officers who will be enforcing the ordinance, largely due to numerous complaints and requests from local residents.
“We’re not going to go out and measure anyone’s grass with a yardstick, but we do get a lot of complaints,” he said. “If everyone takes care of their property, it makes the city look good and also keeps everyone’s property value in good shape.”
Variations of the nuisance guidelines have been on the city’s books for years, Townson said, though his administration has made some minor changes and combined redundant ordinances.
“We’re combining three older ordinances to simplify things, so now we just have to rely on the one ordinance,” he said. “The old ordinance had a 120-day grace period, but that was just too long. In that amount of time the problem could get a lot worse, or the person could move.”
Jason Nunnelley, a resident of the city, said he doesn’t believe the ordinance is necessary.
“If one of my neighbors had a problem with my yard, I would hope they would have the decency to come knock on my door and tell me instead of calling the police,” he said. “I’d be out there to take care of it the next day.”
Fellow resident Jim Fisher said he supports the initiative.
“For the most part, I’m for it,” he said. “It’s a shame we have to actually tell people to keep their property up, though.”
The council also recently:
* Approved a request from administration for purchase of a laser color printer/scanner in the amount of $665.
* Approved a request from Elaine Fuller, museum curator, for $9,932 to have books printed by Modernistic Printers, Inc.
* Approved a request from Rev. Bob Kurtz of St. John’s Church to partially close Sixth Street SE on Friday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. until Monday morning on Nov. 9 for a groundbreaking ceremony for a new expanded ministries facility.
* Approved a request from Daniel Hunt, with city administration, to upgrade existing AT&T internet services. The installation fee is $850 and the monthly fee is $1,055.
* Awarded a bid for a new traffic light on Cherokee Avenue to Shoals Electric Company for $119,490.
* Approved a resolution to surplus some police department equipment that will be given to the Hanceville Police Department.
* Announced Christmas in Downtown for Nov. 14-15.
* Authorized the mayor to sign an agreement with Royal Technologies to provide infrastructure to the company’s industrial lot.
* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.
