Sunday, May 19, 2024
SPRINGTOWN — Springtown City Council adjusted an ordinance related to right-of-way maintenance to make the rule more understandable for locals.
Before it was amended, the city’s ordinance made private property owners responsible for mowing up to 10 feet of right-of-way adjacent to their land, and city workers would take care of the rest.
“That puts us in a situation where if somebody’s got a 20-foot right-of-way, they mow 10 (feet); we mow 10 (feet),” City Administrator David Miller said at the March 26 council meeting.
Miller added that homeowners with houses that back up to a major road would have to mow behind their house and property to meet the requirements of the ordinance.
With the change made at the March council meeting, property owners are responsible for maintaining the right-of-way if it is 10 feet or less, but if it exceeds 10 feet, the owner of the public right-of-way will take care of it. Instead of sharing the work, this puts the task of right-of-way upkeep on one party — the property owner or the city.
The point of the amendment was to make the ordinance clearer without overburdening property owners or city workers, Miller said.
“It just brings clarity, gives a little bit of relief to the citizen without adding a great deal of extra work to public works,” Miller said during the council meeting. “I can tell you public works is thankful for the 90% that maintain their own right-of-way because that would require a great deal more personnel to do.”
The council approved the amendment unanimously without discussion.
