PLYMOUTH — Plymouth lawmakers have taken action to regulate the use of groundcover plantings and landscaping around the village.
According to legislation passed Tuesday by Plymouth Village Council, there was an “immediate necessity to regulate groundcover uses that may cause damage or injury.”
Plymouth Mayor Cassaundra Fryman said the ordinance was presented to the Rules and Village Admin committee “as a solution to more effectively enforce” village zoning laws.
“Our attorney and law director have recommended that we move to this because a lot of cities and communities are moving to a more broad sort of enforcement of zoning to keep everything going,” Fryman said.
“Invasive plants are becoming more popular as a form of groundcover, but it’s not very good for the communities to have those kinds of things in it,” the mayor said.
The adopted regulations address permitted grass species and types of groundcover, as well as maintenance of the aforementioned.
The basics
According to the new law, a “property owner or person in possession may use normal residential grass or other groundcover plantings for purposes of reasonable landscaping,
erosion control, exposed soil coverage and weed infestation control.”
Grass must be of a species normally grown in permanent residential lawns in the village and clean and free of weeds when planted.
Groundcover is defined as perennial plants that are low-growing and spread much wider
than they are tall, but do not exceed a height of eight inches.
“It (groundcover) shall be a species normally grown in Plymouth, Ohio and not classified as invasive by the State of Ohio,” the regulations say.
Property owners or those in possession are responsible for the maintenance of all grass and groundcover.
If the village administrator determines the owner or person in possession of a property has not maintained the property as required by maintenance regulations, a written notice of the violation will be given.
The violation must be corrected within 10 days of service.
Fryman said the adopted regulations will allow more bases to be covered and help the village zoning officer more effectively enforce keeping yards clean.
In other action Tuesday, Village Council:
— entered into the Plymouth East Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Agreement for 2025 with the Board of Township Trustees of New Haven Township.
— authorized Fryman to prepare and submit an application to participate in the Ohio Public Works Commission State Capital Improvement and/or Local Transportation Improvement program(s).
— authorized compensation to K.E. McCartney & Associates for additional services required for additional right of way plan development and acquisition services. This is a part of Plymouth-Shiloh Local School District’s Safe Routes to School program.
— authorized the village administrator to enter into a preliminary engineering agreement with Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company for the development of plans for sidewalk improvements over the railroad’s Carey Subdivision tracks at mile post N-0093.67.
— authorized the village fiscal officer to pay Guenther Mechanical Inc. $3,443.29 for emergency repair on the village boiler system.
— designated and authorized President Pro-Tem Susan Moore as an additional signatory for approved financial accounts for the 2025 calendar year.
Plymouth Village Council meets at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 48 W. Broadway St. Council’s next meeting is set for Feb. 11.