El Paso Official Warns Homeowners of Fines for Overgrown Weeds

Is your yard full of overgrown weeds? Clean it up or risk getting fined warns Ellen Smyth, Chief Transit and Field Operations Officer for the City of El Paso.

Monsoon is in full swing and that typically means an increase in thunderstorm activity. As much as we need and love rain, we’re not the only ones that welcome it – the weeds love it too.

The pesky undesirables take up residence in every available yard and traffic median around town after the summer rains. And because our rainy season goes through September, the city wants you to make sure you don't let your yard get overrun by them.

In an on-air interview with a local news station, Smyth stated that per city code ground vegetation is not allowed to be taller than one foot, although I’ve been told in the past, Code Compliance officers don’t just look at the height of the weeds; they look at how widespread those they are, too.

Failure to keep it as tidy as the city ordinance requires could result in a citation.

How the Process Works

A violation is considered a public nuisance, so if you fail to control the overgrowth and one of your neighbors complains, or the compliance guys driving around take notice, you’ll either be warned, cited, or both.

If you fail to comply, you'll get a second warning. If you don’t comply after that, they'll come for you.

Well, actually they'll send an Environmental Services crew to clean it up and then send you the bill. How much it will cost you depends on the size of the yard and the number of city workers and equipment that was needed to bring your property into compliance.

So get to pulling, spraying, and whacking those weeds. Unkempt yards and overgrown weeds are one of the most common violations the city gets calls about.

And everyone has that one neighbor.