Sunday, September 28, 2008

Yard Debate May Sprout New Landscaping Rules in St. Peters

St. Peters officials discussed landscaping during a special meeting recently. Officials discussed making several changes to city codes pertaining to property maintenance.

Mayor Len Pagano suggested changing the code to reflect the distance trees should be planted from property lines. Pagano charged that trees should be planted at least 6 feet behind the property line." The City Administrator said the city will discuss drafting a landscaping ordinance. Among the discussion topics will be whether to vote to amend the city's property maintenance code in an attempt to regulate tall wild flowers like the ones growing in one resident's yard.

A resident of the St. Peters Hills subdivision said his plants were 7.5 feet tall until he recently trimmed them.

The city is considering drafting an ordinance that targets residents with similar vegetation. The idea for the regulation stemmed from a plea by a real estate agent. The RE agent’s client is trying to sell her home, which is next door to overgrown home. He said "Buyers would like to buy the house which is for sale, but when they see the home next door, they're out of there," he said. "There is no way I'm going to be able to sell this woman's property with it looking like this."

Officials are also considering making it mandatory that all residents have grass in at least 50 percent of their front and back yards.

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