OGDEN — The city is recruiting a volunteer force to help crack down on unsightly yards.
Some residents applaud the citywide cleanup while others refer to it as the city's Gestapo zoning sweep.
For the next three Saturdays, about 80 volunteers will drive through neighborhoods to identify properties in violation of the city's ordinance. The city will send out letters to the purported violators.
"They will be looking for weeds and grass 6 inches high, junk and debris and vehicles parked in the front yard," said Alene Evans, a city building inspector.
In December, the City Council amended the zoning-and-public-nuisance ordinances to increase fines and add the 6-inch benchmark for lawns and weeds. Stricter enforcement began in April.
Calls have poured into the mayor's office both for and against the aggressive cleanup campaign.
"The idea of using volunteers came from our department director meeting. With the manpower we have, we realized that raising the bar is not achievable unless we have a different approach," Mayor Matthew Godfrey said. "We want to see a dramatic increase in home ownership, and in order to achieve that, the city has to be cleaner."
The volunteers are not allowed to canvass their own neighborhoods.
The ordinance provides for a $125 on the first offense and $500 on the second offense within a two-year period.