BREA : Residents Charged for Weed Removal

Two Brea property owners who failed to pay the city for weed removal services will see the charges included on their property tax bills.

City Council members this week unanimously voted to approve the billing procedure, about two months after sending invoices totaling $1,947 for one property owner and $897 for another that still have not been paid.

The bills arise from a periodic city drive to reduce fire and health hazards from brush growth. In June, city workers checked for dead vegetation and weeds on properties throughout the city and found 89 needed abatement.

Notices were sent to the property owners advising them to remove the growth within 14 days. Eighty-one removed their weeds immediately, six have promised to and two did not respond, Interim Fire Chief William R. Simpkins said.

Therefore, he said, the city sent workers to rid those two--an undeveloped lot and a vacant lot--of their weeds.

Each bill includes a $447 fee which the city charges in an effort to make a profit. “It’s not prudent” to have the city abate the weeds, Simpkins said. The fee “is an incentive for property owners to clean their properties themselves.”