Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Ohio

The city I live in sent me a notice on April 19th saying that my grass was more than 8 inches tall, and that I had 3 days to mow or the city would send someone out and I would be fined. I mowed the grass within 3 days, and heard nothing further. On May 9th I woke up to the sound of lawnmowers, and was given a paper saying the city had sent them to mow, and I had been fined. I have contacted the city, and they are saying that they only have to send 1 notice for the entire season, and if the grass gets high, they can mow without further notice and charge me for it.

After they mowed, I waited 20 days (the same number of days between April 19th and May 9th) without mowing a small patch of my lawn, and have pictures to prove that the grass couldn't have grown that high in that amount of time.

Is this legal? Can they send me 1 notice and then come mow and fine me at their discretion, regardless of whether or not the grass is at the 8 inch height limit defined by the city? Especially since the original letter stated that I had 3 days from the April 19th date to mow?

I live in Lyndhurst, Ohio (Cuyahoga County.)


Asked on 6/08/12, 1:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Timothy Hess T. Hess & Associates, LLC

With this drought we are in, I can't see it getting very long. I'm not sure what the process is in Lyndhurst is, but you should be able to contest the fine or submit an appeal in a timely manner.

I'm not trying to be flip, but you might want to mow your lawn more often as it appears someone might have it in for you.

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Answered on 7/17/12, 12:08 pm


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