The Park Ridge Committee of the Whole agreed verbally to change a city weed ordinance to allow for native, or prairie, yards.
The decision wasn’t binding, but was necessary to move the measure toward a vote. A vote to change local code to match state law should come later this month. State law protects certain plants, namely milkweed, from being classified as weeds and thus exempts them from local regulations which tend to limit yard plants.
Director of Community Preservation and Development Drew Awsumb said some homeowners in Park Ridge are growing native landscapes, which favor prairie plants, many of which grow over eight inches tall. He said he’s not aware of any yards that are wholly given over to native prairie plants, but he did say some people have a few beds of native plants that might look like weeds to the uninitiated.
City code prohibits lawns from growing over eight inches. In addition, city code lists a variety of plants as noxious weeds, though they are native plants.
Awsumb pointed out that state law exempts a variety of native plants from weed laws, namely milkweed, a popular plant among home gardeners and pollinators.
“The short version is, it would allow homeowners or other property owners in Park Ridge to have Illinois native or prairie plants, if they were specific species, cultivated with the intention to have that kind of landscape,” Awsumb said.
He said unkempt lawns that were not clearly intended to be native would not be allowed and traditional turf lawns would still need to be maintained as such.
“If you all think this makes sense and are supportive, we can bring this back for a first reading,” Awsumb said. The alderpeople all nodded in agreement.
“This would help staff because it would give us clearer specificity in the code and we could point to,” Awsumb said.
He said it would still allow local code enforcers to maintain community beauty standards.
“If (a lawn) is two feet tall and the grass is starting to seed and it’s got dandelions … our inspectors would start a conversation with the homeowner to identify what they’re doing,” Awsumb said. “Either they’re not responsive or they cut the grass and if they’re not responsive, we take them to adjudication.”
On the other hand, Awsumb said, if a neighbor complained about a yard that’s a prairie yard, the discussion would go another way.
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“In this case, if a neighbor called and complained and said my neighbor’s grass is really long and we showed up and it was bluestem and milkweed and black-eyed Susan, and pants we recognized as Illinois natives, then it would be more of an education thing,” he said. “We would explain to the complainant that those plants are covered by Illinois law. … Not everybody is going to like prairie plantings, but this would legalize that and put us in alignment with the state.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.