PETERSBURG, Va. – Some Petersburg residents said they have complained about tall grass since April.
"This is way past bad, I mean this is beyond that point; it's what three-feet high?!" said resident Gillian Zikes.
Although there have been heavy rains, the grass didn’t get this tall overnight, said a neighbor who made the first complaint at the end of April.
"I put in a request and again during the first two weeks of May,” said Susan Sundem.
The grass now reaches over three feet and some of the weeds are over five feet tall.
"There's no excuse for somebody not coming in here and cutting the grass, at least the front yard,” said resident W.F. Dance.
Last year Petersburg responded to about 1,400 concerns made over tall vegetation, which resulted in 508 private properties having their grass cut by a private contractor.
Since April 30, of this year, the city has already cut 101 private properties and said there are 30 more lined up to be cut.
The city did put a notice of violation in the front yard.
"The grass is over the sign, if they put a sign out here, they should have followed up on it -- so see what's going on,” said Andrea Burwell, who lives across the street.
Neighbors say it's more than just an eyesore.
"Everyone tries to keep their grass at a certain level and then we see this, and it's a nice neighborhood, it really is, it's very quiet, neighbors are great, and it's really not fair to let that go,” said Anne Fereday, who lives directly across the street. .
Legally, once a complaint is received by the city it does take some time before grass can be cut on private property; about 14 days or more.
But after the first cut, a complaint on the same property can be taken care of in about 48 hours.
