Moses Lake homeowners face $5,000 fine for weeds
One of six houses in Moses Lake that will be fined $5,000 for unkept overgrown weeds, violating city municipal code.
MOSES LAKE - The Mose Lake city council is set to fine six
homeowners $5,000 for violating Moses Lake Municipal Code.
The action is in response to several attempts made by city
officials asking homeowners to "spray and remove noxious
weeds."
MOSES LAKE - The Mose Lake city council is set to fine six homeowners $5,000 for violating Moses Lake Municipal Code.
The action is in response to several attempts made by city officials asking homeowners to "spray and remove noxious weeds."
Moses Lake city council members passed six resolutions Tuesday night requiring homeowners to clear the weeds in 15 days. After that, the city will seek a contractor to clean up the yards and bill the homeowners later.
According to Moses Lake Municipal code, all homeowners violated the "Noxious Weed Control" code which states that weeds found to be "injurious to crops, livestock and other property ...[it] should be the duty of each owner of property ... to control and prevent the spread of noxious weeds."
Clair Harden, Moses Lake code enforcement officer, presented documentation of the possibly violations during a city council meeting.
Harden said he attempted to contact homeowners by certified mail between late July and early August but the letters came back to him because the homeowners did not sign for the mail.
The city council held a public hearing during the presentation to see if any homeowners wanted to present their side of the story.
No homeowners were present at the meeting.
Harden said he sent homeowners notifications of the public hearing two weeks beforehand.
"We made the contacts we could, gave (homeowners) what notice we could, and they didn't show up (to the public hearing)," said Moses Lake city attorney James Whitaker.
Homeowners were charged the maximum $5,000 penalty a city can impose in Washington state, said Whitaker.
The city can charge homeowners up to $250 per day for a maximum of 20 days for the violation, said Whitaker.
The seven homes found in violation are: 720 Penn Ivy, 403 Earl Road, 221 Crestview Drive, 227 Crestview Drive, 502 Kentucky, 522 Kentucky and 530 Florida.