A. 
No owner or occupant of property in the City shall cause or permit trash, refuse or debris to accumulate or remain upon his/her property so as to constitute a menace to health or a menace to public safety or a fire hazard or a public nuisance or a nuisance to adjoining property owners or an obstruction to the free passage of persons using the sidewalks or streets contiguous to the property.
B. 
No owner or occupant of property in the City shall cause or permit weeds, grass, thickets or other growth to grow upon his/her property so as to constitute a menace to health or a menace to public safety or a fire hazard or a public nuisance or a nuisance to adjoining property owners or an obstruction to the free passage of persons using the sidewalks or streets contiguous to the property. Grass over 10 inches tall shall constitute a public nuisance absent a finding as outlined in Subsections D and E below.
C. 
In determining whether an area is in violation of Subsection B, the City shall consider the following factors:
(1) 
Evidence of neglect or abandonment.
(2) 
Presence of trash, debris, litter or garbage.
(3) 
The impact on neighboring properties as to encroachment of vegetation on neighboring properties and rights-of-way, and
(4) 
The impact on health or public safety.
D. 
For occupied residential properties only, an area which is being actively protected, maintained, or cultivated for a use other than a lawn, such as a wildflower garden, wildlife habitat, meadow, or vegetable or herb garden, shall not be considered a violation of paragraph b, without a threat to health or public safety, a fire hazard, a substantial and unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of neighboring property, or an obstruction of public rights-of-way. A property owner may initiate City consideration of a property as meeting § 65-25D and E by providing a letter to the City that the owner intends to maintain a non-lawn use meeting the requirements of this ordinance.
E. 
A finding that an area is being actively protected, maintained, or cultivated for a non-lawn use shall be based on consideration of the circumstances in the area, including but not limited to, favorable consideration of the following factors:
(1) 
Presence of native plant species.
(2) 
Presence of wildflowers, vegetables, or herbs
(3) 
Presence of the four requirements for wildlife: food (which may come from plantings or feeders), water, places to take cover, and places to raise their young.
(4) 
Presence of wildlife, such as birds, squirrels, spiders and insects.
(5) 
Evidence provided by the landowner to establish active involvement in protecting, maintaining, or cultivating the area, which may include certification by a recognized state or national wildlife or natural habitat organization.
F. 
Native plants shall be those listed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the piedmont or coastal plain areas of Maryland, as well as those listed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
[Amended 7-20-1970; 6-28-1976, 11-4-1991 by HB No. 6-91, 3-3-2008 by HO-2008-04,4-7-2008 by HO-2008-05, 12-14-2009 by HO-2009-10, 12-5-2016 by HO-2016-02]
A. 
Upon complaint that a condition exists prohibited by Section 65-25 and upon inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer and a determination that a condition does exist that violates Section 65-25, the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the owner and the occupants of the property, by causing a copy of such notice to be prominently affixed to the property or by personally serving upon the owner and occupants of the property a copy of said notice, and by mailing via regular mail a copy of the notice to the residence and to the owner, the notice shall be dated and state with specificity the nature of the condition, that the condition must be remedied within 14 days (more days may be specified in the notice) of the posting date of the notice, that upon failure to remove/abate such within the time specified, the City will remove/abate it, and the cost thereof will be charged to him, her, them as the case may be, unless cause to the contrary be shown by filing Objections in writing with the Office Of Code Enforcement on or before the expiration date on the Notice.
B. 
If timely objections have been filed in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the appeal of the specified action shall be held pursuant to § 96-6A and B of this Code except that no appeal fee shall be required; the Mayor and City Administrator shall select at least two persons with expertise in botany and horticulture to advise on the record the Board hearing the appeal; upon written request the Mayor and City Administrator may grant a fifteen-day extension to allow the Appellant additional time to prepare; and the earliest date the City may begin to remove or abate the condition, absent emergency circumstances, shall be three days after the appeal process has been concluded. The appellant may call such witnesses as he or she chooses for the hearing of the appeal.
C. 
Upon failure of the recipient either to comply with such notice or to file timely objections, the City of Hyattsville shall authorize or employ persons to perform said work, who shall have the right of entering the premises for that purpose, and the cost thereof shall be assessed against the property owner by the City of Hyattsville.
D. 
If the City of Hyattsville shall have the work performed or shall employ persons to perform said work and if the cost thereof as so assessed shall not be paid within 30 days after a request for payment has been given to the owner or occupant of the property; such cost, as contained in a statement provided to the Treasurer by the Head of Code Enforcement, showing the cost and expense incurred for the work, the date the work was done and the location of the property on which said work was done, shall be charged to the owner of such property by issuance of a supplemental tax bill. Such tax bill shall constitute a lien on such property and shall be collected in such manner as the City may establish.