Out of Control

Armed with a tape measure, Sophia Jennings keeps her eyes open for overgrown weeds and the owners of the yards that have them.

Jennings, a Baltimore County code enforcement officer, checks on residents who are not in compliance with rules about overgrown lawns.

In most area jurisdictions, letting grass grow more than a foot high, or 8 inches in Baltimore city, is against the law.

In some jurisdictions, the grass "cops" come in the form of code enforcement officers. In others, public works officials or environmental health workers are assigned to the task.

"We actually have a grass ruler," said Tommie Houck, chief of zoning enforcement for Harford County.

If residents don’t cut their grass themselves officials send out crews armed with lawnmowers to do the job. The cost of the cut can run into the hundreds of dollars and is passed on to the property owners.

Article here; via Fark.

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