A reader writes:
There is an overgrown 12 foot wide city-owned “alley” behind my house in Riverside Terrace that due to weeds and trees is no longer navigable by anything larger than a “mini hydraulic excavator.” I know this because Centerpoint drove one back there when they put in my new gas meter in October.
My busy-body retired neighbor informs me that I am responsible for maintaining the alley by keeping the weeds and grass down, though when I look a few houses down in both directions from my house, I see a forest – and no one other than my neighbor complaining about it. So I quit mowing it 2 months ago, much to her chagrine. I’d like to treat it more like a green belt. Occasionally I’ll see a screech owl hunting back there during the late evening from its perch on my wooden fence. IMO the more trees, the better.
Am I really legally bound to mow back there? Mowing that small strip of grass would equate to another 2 pints of sweat lost, according to my experiences this past month.â€
Photo: Swamplot inbox
