Property Maintenance

Village Code requires lawns to be kept below 9 inches in height. If grass gets above this height, the Village may have the lawn mowed and billed to the property owner. The property owner can also be issued a citation. Residents are responsible for maintaining lawns in public right-of-way areas adjacent to their property.

No person shall use the public streets or any other public property as a place for disposal of yard waste or grass clippings. The Village may cause the debris to be removed and the expense billed to the owner, occupant or person in charge.

Clear water shall be conveyed to the front or rear yard by means of an electrically driven pump. No side yard discharge of water is allowed. The clear water pump shall be located a minimum of 20 feet from the nearest floor drain and from any sanitary sump pit. The discharge pipe or extension or drain system of each clear water sump pump shall be extended no closer than 15 feet from any property line. The clear water waste shall be conveyed above ground by gravity flow and by natural means to the point of disposal. The clear water sump pump may be connected underground to the storm sewer system, at the owner’s expense, upon written approval of the Director of Public Works.

All residential roof drains shall be discharged no closer than six feet from any lot line and above grade. Roof drains that are installed to discharge below grade shall be removed and shall be so reconstructed as to discharge above the ground level grade.

Property owners are responsible for the repair or replacement of public sidewalks adjacent to their property. In accordance with the Village’s sidewalk inspection program, the Union Grove Public Works Department will identify hazardous sidewalks or conditions which, if not addressed, could develop into a hazard that could endanger public safety. The following are examples of conditions that could develop into hazards:

• A difference in height at the joint of greater than 0.5 inch in elevation of adjacent sidewalk squares.
• The pitch of a sidewalk is greater than 1 inch per foot.
• Existence of cracking and/or deterioration which has resulted in any of the following:
  • A crack that is greater than ¾ inch wide.
  • A difference in height greater than ½ inch, within a sidewalk section, separated by a longitudinal crack or cracks, or 1 inch where separated by a transverse crack or cracks. Where it cannot be reasonably determined, whether a crack of joint is transverse or longitudinal, the stricter criteria shall be applied.
  • Loose or spalled concrete, which has resulted in surface irregularities greater than ½ inch depth relative to the sidewalk surface.
  • A depression greater than ¾” within a sidewalk square.

When sidewalk hazards have been identified, a notice will be issued to the property owner. According to Village ordinances, the property owner will have the option of completing the repair or replacement themselves within 30 days. If the work is not completed within that timeframe, the Village will have the work completed by a third-party contractor. The property owner will be billed 100% of the cost plus a 15% administrative fee. If the cost of the work is under $300, the bill shall be paid within thirty (30) days of invoicing and if not paid the amount shall be entered by the Clerk in the tax roll as a special charge against the property. If the bill is over $300, at the option of the landowner, the special charge will be spread over three years. Failure of the landowner to pay within thirty (30) days of billing will, in the absence of other instructions, be considered an election to pay on the basis of a three year special charge.

Replacement sidewalks shall be made of concrete, shall match the width of adjacent squares and shall be a minimum thickness of 4 inches. Sidewalks through a residential driveway shall be a minimum thickness of 6 inches and through a non-residential driveway shall be a minimum of 8 inches.

Trees standing in and upon any public street or place or upon any lot or land adjacent thereto shall be pruned and trimmed by the owner or occupant of the property on or in front of which such trees are growing, so that the lowest branches projecting over the public street or alley will provide a clearance of no less than 14 feet and a clearance of not less than 10 feet over any public place and so that no dead, broken or otherwise hazardous branches shall be likely to fall and do injury to the public. When the Director of Public Works deems a tree to be hazardous, a notice is issued to the property owner with a time period to address the tree. If the tree is not addressed within the time period, the Village will have the tree trimmed, pruned or removed and the cost will be billed to the property owner.

The following property conditions may be declared public nuisances by the Village of Union Grove, requiring action by the property owner:

• All trees, hedges, billboards or other obstructions that prevent persons driving vehicles on public streets, alleys or highways from obtaining a clear view of traffic when approaching an intersection or pedestrian crosswalk.
• All limbs of trees that project over and less than 14 feet above the surface of a public sidewalk or street or less than ten feet above any other public place.
• All buildings or structures so old, dilapidated or out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for human use.
• All open and unguarded pits, wells, excavations or unused basements freely accessible from any public street, alley or sidewalk.
• Carcasses of animals, birds or fowls not intended for human consumption or food which are not buried or otherwise disposed of in a sanitary manner within 24 hours after death.
• Accumulations of decayed animal or vegetable matter, trash, rubbish, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, scrap metal or any material whatsoever in which flies, mosquitoes, disease-carrying insects, rats or other vermin may breed.
• All stagnant water in which mosquitoes, flies or other insects can multiply.
• All noxious weeds and other rank growth of vegetation.
• The escape of smoke, soot, cinders, noxious acids, fumes, gases, flying ash, industrial dust or other atmospheric pollutants within the Village limits or within one mile therefrom in such quantities as to endanger the health of persons of ordinary sensibilities or to threaten or cause substantial injury to the property in the Village.
• Any use of property, substances or things within the Village and within one mile from the Village limits emitting or causing any foul, offensive, noisome, nauseous, noxious or disagreeable odors, gases, effluvia or stenches extremely repulsive to the physical senses of ordinary persons that annoy, discomfort, injure or inconvenience the health of any appreciable number of persons within the Village.
• All abandoned wells not securely covered or secured from public use.
• Any use of property that shall cause any nauseous or unwholesome liquid or substance to flow into or upon any street, gutter, alley, sidewalk or public place within the Village.