DALTON, Ga. - Waist-high grass and mounds of kudzu swallow a handful of yards in Whitfield County.
It's a sure sign to codes enforcer Alan Parrish that yet another home has been abandoned by its owner and is awaiting repossession by the bank.
"We don't usually know which houses have been abandoned until it starts to warm up and the grass starts to grow," Mr. Parrish said. "It's gotten worse with the economy over the last few years."
Last week, three houses in the Westerly Heights section of Dalton caught the ire of Mayor David Pennington. He ordered the yards mowed and one abandoned swimming pool drained.
"These are some serious situations," Mr. Pennington said. "We actually cut (one of the yards) on the right-of-way because people couldn't see around to turn."
One home, which has sat unoccupied for at least two summers, had waist-deep grass and an unsecured, algae-laden swimming pool in the back yard. The Dalton city attorney said that pool, left with an open gate, posed a legal liability for the city if someone fell into it.
The city's yard-maintenance ordinance has teeth, but finding the offenders can be tough.
When Mr. Parrish first finds an unkempt property, he issues a notice to the owners that they are not in compliance with the law. That's followed by a citation and an order to appear before a judge. If the owner fails to appear, a bench warrant may be issued and the homeowner could be arrested.
In a lot of cases, "the homeowner has just abandoned the property," Mr. Parrish said. "They still own the property, and the bank has not taken it over yet."
Once the bank takes possession, or if the property is listed with a realty company, Mr. Parrish finds it easy to get the property into compliance. But it's the in-between time that's hard to manage.
"Until the bank takes it over, they aren't liable. The homeowner is," Mr. Parrish said. "Finding them can be impossible."
YARDWORKYards that are drastically overgrown can land owners in jail if they ignore warnings and citations:1: Notice of violation issued2: Citation issued, owner ordered to appear before judge3: Bench warrant can be issued and owner can be arrestedSource: City of Dalton
City leaders don't like to cut grass on privately owned property. It's an expense the city shouldn't have to take on, they say.
Mr. Pennington approved cutting the grass on the three Westerly Heights properties on an "emergency" basis, but Mr. Parrish wants an ordinance passed so the city can cut grass on properties that become safety hazards or public nuisances. The costs could then be passed onto the property owner through a lien, he said.
"We need some kind of ... other ordinance that, if this property is left unattended for so long, we can legally go on the property and put a lien on the property," Mr. Parrish said before the council last week.
Right now the city code doesn't allow for that.
"If we go in and bush-hog those properties, I don't think many people would complain," said city attorney Jim Bisson. "But I would feel more comfortable if we had something in the code that allowed us to put a lien on the property."
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