INDIANAPOLIS —
The neighbor
Mark Powers takes pride in his property located on Indianapolis' west side.
"I just like to keep things tidy, you know, and keep my grass cut and no weeds," Powers said.
Which is why it is frustrating to live next to a house with a backyard covered in tall weeds.
"It's like a forest over here," he pointed, "the rodents and the raccoons."
High weeds and grass complaints can be filed with two agencies if you live in Indianapolis: the Marion County Board of Health and the City of Indianapolis' Business and Neighborhood Services.
Powers said he filed a complaint with both agencies at different times.
"I call them a couple of times a week, and they'll do nothing," Powers said.
When 13News reached out to the Marion County Board of Health about his early September complaint, a spokesperson said they issued the homeowner a violation Sept. 11.
Then on Oct. 18, the case was referred to environmental court because full compliance was not obtained.
As for the complaint filed with BNS in the last week of October, that is being closed because of the open court case.
"I tried to be a nice neighbor, Powers said, "but it's getting too much."
So, "in the weeds" is where his concerns sit until the court process is complete.
The numbers
The Marion County Board of Health said they accept high weeds and grass complaints year-round.
The City of Indianapolis Business and Neighborhood Services, however, only handle high weeds and grass complaints seasonally. It begins May 1 and ends Oct. 31.
A BNS spokesperson said the last complaints were accepted Oct. 30, with inspections ending Oct. 31. Vendors will also continue to mow until Nov. 9.
If a vendor cannot get to the lot in time, BNS expects property owners to address the issue.
From January until Oct. 30, 2023, BNS said they received 8,690 inspection requests for high weeds and grass.
Upon inspection, they opened 5,088 violation cases. The remainder of those requests are considered closed with no violation.
Vendors have mowed a total of 2,174 times. Within that, 848 of those were repeat mows.
In all of 2022, BNS had 8,446 inspection requests that resulted in 5,020 violation cases. Vendors mowed a total of 2,189 times, of which there were 711 repeat mows.