PUBLIC NOTICE
The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at the Rockingham County Administration Center, 20 East Gay Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia, at 6:00 p.m. on April 9, 2025, to receive comments on the following proposed ordinance enacting Article IV, Grass, Weeds, and Similar Vegetation of Chapter 14, Refuse, Garbage and Weeds of the Code Of Ordinances of Rockingham County, Virginia:
That Article IV of Chapter 14 be and hereby is enacted as follows:
Sec. 14-23. Cutting of grass, weeds, and similar vegetation required.
(a) The owner of real property located outside the corporate limits of any town has a duty to cut and remove the grass, weeds, and similar vegetation as frequently as necessary to control growth, subject to the following:
Residential Property. On property zoned residential or on a lot zoned agricultural but used for a residential purpose and the lot contains one acre or less, the owner must not permit grass, weeds, or similar vegetation to grow taller than ten (10) inches in height.
Business, Commercial or Industrial Property. The owner of property zoned for business, commercial, or industrial use must not permit grass, weeds, and similar vegetation to grow taller than twelve (12) inches in height.
(b) Exemptions. The Code Enforcement Officer or designee may waive enforcement of this section upon his written determination that (a) the slope or physical condition of the property render compliance impracticable or (b) the planting of the vegetation meets a county-approved engineering or environmental purpose and the owner maintains the growth according to best management practices.
(c) Notice of violation. After determining that a violation of this article exists, the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the owner that the vegetation must be cut and properly disposed of within ten (10) days of the date of notice. The notice shall be posted on the premises and sent by certified mail to the property owner of record at the address on file in the Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue.
(d) Abatement. If such grass, weeds, and similar vegetation are not cut within the time stated in the notice, the county may cause them to be cut. The county’s costs and expenses, including an administrative charge of $100.00, shall be billed to the owner of the property and, if not promptly paid, shall be added to and collected in the same manner as the real estate tax on the property. Every charge authorized by this section with which the owner has been assessed and which remains unpaid constitutes a lien on such property ranking on a parity with liens for unpaid local real estate taxes and enforceable as provided in state law. All such liens shall remain a personal obligation of the owner of the property at the time the liens were imposed.
Civil penalty. The first violation of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $50. A separate and distinct violation occurring within 12 months of the first violation, hereinafter referred to as a second violation, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $200.
Each business day a violation continues unresolved constitutes a separate and additional offense, subject to the assessment of an additional civil penalty not to exceed $50. Each business day a second violation continues unresolved constitutes a separate and additional offense, subject to the assessment of an additional civil penalty not to exceed $200.
Civil penalties arising from the same set of operative facts shall not exceed a total of $3,000 in a 12-month period or, in the case of property that is zoned or utilized for industrial or commercial purposes, $6,000 in a 12-month period. Costs, expenses, and administrative charges are in addition to, and not included in, civil penalties and maximum civil penalty limitations.
The ordinance is proposed to become effective from the 9th day of April 2025.
The proposed ordinance is available for review in the Office of the County Administrator, 20 East Gay Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia or on the County’s website at www.rockinghamcountyva.gov.
By order of the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors