Western New York Town Threatening Ridiculous Fines?

One Western New York town is monitoring homes in a way that many residents have probably overlooked, especially this month. 

As you may have heard, there is a movement that became popularized during the month of May. It is called “No Mow May,” where people pause mowing during the month of May, allowing flowers to bloom in your lawn to help early season pollinators like bees. 

The Risk With Not Mowing Your Lawn

There is a bit of risk with No Mow May though…because a lot of towns and villages have regulations on lawn care, so there is a chance that you can receive a notice from your town that threatens a pretty large fine over the length of your lawn.

However, this notice is pretty ridiculous. After all, it looks like this home did not violate the code after all. 

What Is The Length For Violation?

According to the notice above, the Village of Kenmore does not allow “grass, weed, and plant growth” to exceed 6 inches in height. 

“You must cut these areas within the next 7 days and maintain all yards throughout the growing season,” according to the Village of Kenmore building department. If the resident does not comply within 10 days, the village or any person or contractor hired by the village “shall have the power to enter the property and cut, trim, or remove grass, weeds, and plant growth to bring this violation into compliance.” 

I guess it would make sense – if the homeowner were to be in actual violation. 

But they don’t appear to be. 

The Lawn Actually Appears To Be Fine

“I went outside to measure and sure enough…nowhere close to 6 inches,” the Village of Kenmore resident wrote in a Facebook group. 

Using some measuring tape, it is clear that the grass does not exceed 3.5 inches, which is in compliance with the village…so it seems weird that they would be threatened with a fine. 

What Is The Fine?

“Any person found guilty of an offense in this article may be subject to a fine not to exceed $250.00,” the notice reads.

Sounds like a pretty hefty fine over someone’s lawn…that again, appears to be in compliance with the code. 

 If you get a notice in regards to your lawn and it’s clearly mistaken, it would be helpful to take a similar picture with measuring tape as well, but you should include one thing: place the newspaper date from today in the picture as well so the village (or town) knows that it is a recent photo and they cannot try to dispute it that way.