Weed Abatement Season is Upon Us All - Code Services Shares About The Program

Show Notes

Today, we’re talking about weed abatement and the importance of keeping our community vibrant, safe and clean. Our guest today is Lexi Murphy, our code services specialist and a familiar face from a previous episode.

What is Dallas, Oregon Podcast?

Your source for city updates, behind-the-scenes stories, and conversations with the people shaping our community.

SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the
Dallas, Oregon Podcast, your

quick and informative source for
what's happening in and around

our city.

I'm Charlie Mitchell, the city's
Economic and Community

Development Director, and each
week we bring in city staff,

local leaders, and community
members to discuss the projects,

people, and possibilities
shaping our community.

Today we're talking about Wii
Abatement and the importance of

keeping our community vibrant,
safe, and clean.

Our guest today is Lexi Murphy,
our Code Services Specialist,

and a familiar face from a
previous episode.

Welcome, Lexi.

SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having
me.

Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00: All right, great.

Hey Lexi, let's just dive right
in and tell us about the

upcoming Wii Abatement season
and what the program is all

about.

SPEAKER_01: Every year from
mid-April through September, we

proactively enforce our
obnoxious vegetation code

throughout Dallas.

It's one of our efforts at
keeping Dallas a clean and

vibrant community.

SPEAKER_00: And what exactly
would trigger you to create a

case on a specific property?

SPEAKER_01: We are looking for
grass and weeds more than 10

inches tall, weeds that are
going to seed, and blackberries

that cross the property line.

We also address vegetation that
encroaches into the sidewalk.

SPEAKER_00: That's great.

So if someone, if someone sees a
property with overgrown

vegetation, for example, how do
they go about reporting that to

you?

SPEAKER_01: You can file it
through our reporter concern,

locate online at
ww.dallasor.gov, or you can give

me a call at 503-831-3512.

SPEAKER_00: Great.

There's a couple good options
there.

Um so can you tell us all about
what the weed abatement process

is?

Because I'm guessing a lot of
folks may not know that, and

maybe what the process is for
those maybe that aren't

compliant.

SPEAKER_01: Of course.

We always issue a warning first,
then we come back for

reinspection in 10 days.

If the property is not in
compliance, then we will post

our abatement notice on the
property, which is followed by a

certified letter mailed to the
property owner.

We give an additional 10 days to
check for compliance.

If the property is partially
completed, then a citation will

be issued and completion will be
required.

When no progress has been made,
I will assign one of our local

contractors to complete the
work.

And once that bill is sent to
us, we will then sport it on to

the property owner.

SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.

What about more complicated
cases like such as a large field

and uh limited mobility of the
homeowner, or maybe the property

owner is out of state?

SPEAKER_01: This is very common
and we are very flexible at

working with people.

Our goal is always voluntary
compliance.

If you give me a call, text, or
email, we can easily make

adjustments that work for both
parties.

SPEAKER_00: Very good.

And I know we, you know, we
always try our best to work with

the property owners to get the
property into compliance.

And we're willing to give
extensions.

And um, but when exactly are
those extensions given?

SPEAKER_01: Extensions are
granted when the responsible

party makes contact with us in a
timely manner.

If they're making an effort to
voluntarily comply and they let

us know they need more time, we
are always happy to give more

time.

SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.

Um, so this kind of back to
basics a little bit.

What is it, what does it mean to
abate a property?

SPEAKER_01: Abatement can be
easily described as forced

compliance.

A property is abated, we hire a
local contractor to remedy the

violation.

The invoice will be sent to us,
and then finance will forward it

to the property owner.

If the bill does not get paid,
it will then become a lien on

the property.

SPEAKER_00: Okay, very good.

Well, Lexi, I want to thank you
so much for joining us today and

sharing everything about weed
abatement and the importance it

plays in keeping our community
safe, clean, and vibrant.

Now, before we go, to close out
our podcast, we ask all our

guests this one last question.

And what is your favorite thing
about Dallas, Lexi?

SPEAKER_01: Everywhere I go, I
always run into familiar,

friendly faces.

Dallas is a place where you can
go, where you're always given a

welcome.

Good morning.

SPEAKER_00: That's wonderful.

Boy, that's a good elevator
speech right there.

I want to thank again to Lexi
for joining us, and thank you to

everyone for tuning in today.

Be sure to follow us on YouTube,
Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

And thanks again for listening
to the Dallas, Oregon Podcast.

I'm Charlie Mitchell, and we'll
see you next time.