Weed Abatement Process & Reporting Form

You file a complaint about tall weeds or grass with the City of Columbia. What happens next?

Upon reporting an issue with weeds or grass taller than 12 inches in height, or poison ivy, oak or sumac of any height to the Office of Neighborhood Services, residents of the City of Columbia can expect the following actions to take place:

  1. An inspector will visit the reported property and determine if there are weeds, grass or poison ivy, oak or sumac on the property that are in violation of Columbia City Ordinance, usually within two business days of receipt of the complaint.
  2.  A Notice of Hearing will be sent to the property owner via first-class mail, or the property will be posted with said notice, informing the owner that a hearing has been scheduled to determine if weeds, grass or poison ivy has been allowed to grow on the property that is in violation of Columbia City Ordinance. 
  3.  Hearings will be set on the next available hearing date once 3 days mailing, and 4 days for action by the property owner have expired.
  4. An inspection will be held the morning of the hearing to determine if the property has been brought into compliance.
  5. If the property is still in violation, the weeds can be declared a nuisance by the Hearing Director during the scheduled hearing.
  6. If the weeds are found to be a nuisance, a Notice of Nuisance Declaration and Order of Abatement will be sent by first-class mail to the property owner, or posted upon the property by the Inspector.
  7. Abatement can be scheduled once 3 mailing days and 5 business days have passed to allow the owner to bring the property into compliance. If the City has to abate the property, we will schedule our mowing contractor to mow the property and will tax bill the property after the work is complete.

From start to finish, an abatement of property by the City will likely take a minimum of 3 full calendar weeks. Some cases may require more time depending on the circumstances.

Thanks for taking the time to report weed violations so City staff can help keep our City safe and healthy!