Chicago Suburbs Inundated with Tall Grass in Foreclosed Homes

June 24th, 2009 | Tags: Foreclosed Homes

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The Chicago suburbs have been inundated with tall grass in the innumerable foreclosed homes. It has become a growing problem.

Russian immigrant Michael Mazo is fond of insects and other forms of life that flit through the tall grass in the back yard of his town house in Buffalo Grove. To him this free growing grass symbolized the freedom he longed for in this adopted homeland. But the local government does not look at the grass with a friendly eye. Officials and neighbours observe with alarm the spurt of green growth as spring advances into summer. The length of Mazo’s grass had broken the norms. It was cut and he has been sent a hefty bill!

With foreclosures having the run of the locality the municipalities are having a trying time looking after all the derelict foreclosed houses. Many of the suburbs like Arlington Height, Aurora, Naperville and Northbrook are taking action to make the owners of the houses accountable.

Kelly Hamill of Northbrook Public Works said, “Usually we don’t get involved unless it is an extreme circumstance. But times are a bit different right now. The real odd part is the number of foreclosures. People aren’t keeping up with them because they are not there.”” The village takes a charge of $136 per hour to cut the grass that is taller than 10” growing in the gardens of private houses.

This year spring has been damp and chilly complicating matters further. Marvin Ganek of Chicago Botanic Garden said, “The majority of grass grown in the Chicago area is Kentucky blue, which is a cool weather grass. In addition, it needs moisture, and we have had plenty of that. I can tell you it has been growing better this year than it has in a number of years.”

In Aurora it is the rain that is more to be blamed for the spurt in grass growth. It is not so much the fault of the real estate market as much as the vagaries of Nature. This was the view of Mark Anderson of Department of Neighborhood Standards.

Till the end of May Aurora noted 1,412 violations of grass growing more than 8”. In the previous year during the same period there were 1,141 cases. Aurora levies $50 for cutting grass on those who have offended for the first time. The fifth time offender is charged $500.