[Massplanners] mowing requirements

[Kristina Johnson]

I’m with many of you who contributed to this thread.

I believe what is being proposed (as I understand it) is a bit of overreach here, and not sure is the best use of enforcement authority to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community.  The basic enforcement of zoning, codes, noise by-laws, etc. is tough enough as it is for local officials, and then you want to add enforcing “lawn height” to the mix. Could you even imagine the civil disputes between neighbors that local officials would have to mediate? That already plays out now here with warring neighbors tattling on each other, and then sending us, the local government, videos and copies of social media diatribes and expect us to resolve disputes.

Thank you for reading my TED Talk.


Kristina Johnson, AICP
Director of Planning and Community Development
Town of Hudson, Massachusetts
978-562-2989
kjohnson at townofhudson.org<mailto:kjohnson at townofhudson.org>
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From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Madden, Nadia (DCR) via MassPlanners
Sent: Monday, July 8, 2024 7:50 AM
To: rebecca at rbladesign.com; Harry LaCortiglia <hlacortiglia at comcast.net>
Cc: massplanners at masscptc.org
Subject: Re: [Massplanners] mowing requirements

Here are some additional resources on pollinator-friendly gardens: Choosing Pollinator-Friendly Native Plants in Home Gardening or Landscaping | Mass.gov<https://www.mass.gov/info-details/choosing-pollinator-friendly-native-plants-in-home-gardening-or-landscaping>

Best,
Nadia Madden, CFM
Floodplain Management Specialist
Flood Hazard Management Program
MA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
nadia.madden at mass.gov<mailto:nadia.madden at mass.gov>
phone: (857)287-1603
www.mass.gov/guides/floodplain-management<http://www.mass.gov/guides/floodplain-management>

From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org>> On Behalf Of Rebecca Bachand via MassPlanners
Sent: Friday, July 5, 2024 11:54 AM
To: Harry LaCortiglia <hlacortiglia at comcast.net<mailto:hlacortiglia at comcast.net>>
Cc: Rebecca Bachand <rebecca.bachand at rbladesign.com<mailto:rebecca.bachand at rbladesign.com>>; massplanners at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org>
Subject: Re: [Massplanners] mowing requirements

CAUTION: This email originated from a sender outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts mail system.  Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

I love seeing so much interest from planners in more naturalized landscape approaches! You might all be interested in following Ben Vogt, whose efforts at growing and maintaining a prairie yard in a typical subdivision got him a lot of experience in addressing these concerns. He even has tips to avoid getting fined by the community/HOA: Monarch Gardens<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/simple-ways-to-avoid-fines__;!!CPANwP4y!SiYO8S3peLP22EkkmaqdQsEO8cvSGxjcFpSTEpSsaqZCW3GbT_skTjROaBCNfwpqlBAVXuQ885_eoL-GGWfri1g9HsGP$>

"Cues to Care" are integral to the acceptance of these efforts, and as noted by others can be hard to define.

Research from UMASS by Susannah Lerman and her team indicates mowing every two weeks is ideal for maintaining lawns at a "respectable" (to your neighbors) level while allowing growth of plants supporting birds, bees, and other insects. Unfortunately, the links to her easy to share graphics, etc seem to be broken, but maybe a hunt through her publications will offer good info:: Susannah B. Lerman, Research Ecologist, USDA.gov<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/research.fs.usda.gov/about/people/sblerman*products-tab__;Iw!!CPANwP4y!SiYO8S3peLP22EkkmaqdQsEO8cvSGxjcFpSTEpSsaqZCW3GbT_skTjROaBCNfwpqlBAVXuQ885_eoL-GGWfri6nh-Z_s$>

An article from PENN cites Minnesota Extension/UMN Bee Labs<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.pennlive.com/life/2022/08/bee-lawns-a-lazy-mower-way-to-help-pollinators.html__;!!CPANwP4y!SiYO8S3peLP22EkkmaqdQsEO8cvSGxjcFpSTEpSsaqZCW3GbT_skTjROaBCNfwpqlBAVXuQ885_eoL-GGWfri0kDY6kL$>' 4-inch mowing height recommendation, but when I mow our lawn to 3" my husband doesn't think I've cut it at all!
(The struggle is real, even for Landscape Architects!)

Rebecca Bachand, RLA, LEED AP®, ASLA

781-686-4486

[https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fci3.googleusercontent.com%2fmail-sig%2fAIorK4yGWQJU32Uvfu9yiMH5LRO31somW6TDPbIdSDmsL_hfG-rPw7wcxf9XIOcqPZfmf6eAKMQtRLM&c=E,1,wNQOej_USGAHT29xoPQT8u3pCZwrolRzamOn-oeYDX9ZY3_5x8TnRW0gJ-xtR-iglhnxs7NJ-Zz6tW-EfvOWvwAbEyn5-oLc43cCofjG&typo=1]

RBLA Design LLC

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On Thu, Jul 4, 2024 at 7:51 AM Harry LaCortiglia via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org>> wrote:

I would certainly hope that no government entity would infringe upon my right to grow the grass on my very own property, as tall as I need it to be, prior to my harvesting it for personal use.

I cultivate my grass to a certain length to be as effective as possible in my garden bed as my primary mulch, thus preventing evaporation as much as possible. (So many communities are under to water conservation restrictions these days!)

Although I guess I could bring my home grown vegetables to the ZBA Hearing when I ask for relief of any grass height zoning limitation.

Does anyone have a Grass Height Setback Variance application I could use?

Have a great day celebrating the Independence of our nation and our inalienable right to sarcasm!
H. LaCortiglia
Georgetown P.B.


On 7/3/2024 3:40 PM, Jeff Lacy via MassPlanners wrote:
Are we talking about private property? A homeowner’s little patch of the earth? I can’t see any legitimate role for government here, especially if the only complaint is appearance.
Jeff Lacy
Rural Planning Associates
(413) 230-9693

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 3, 2024, at 3:18 PM, Nate Card via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org><mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

I don't know what it would look like, nor of any precedents (as far as regulations go) but I suspect you could establish an approved ratio of mowed to un-mowed lawn, essentially requiring some degree of cues-to-care, like mowed borders or pathways. Or perhaps waivers to the current regulations could be issued for households submitting a plan for some level of lawn conversion, to promote long-term pollinator support.

Nathanael Card
M.S. Ecological Design, 2024
The Conway School, Northampton, MA
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