Who's responsible for the maintenance? Homeowner wants overgrown trees, weeds removed
BATON ROUGE - Who is responsible for maintaining an area full of overgrown trees and weeds behind a woman's house? Is it the city, is it the electric company or is it the homeowner?
Dana Brown moved into her home on Maplewood Drive in Baton Rouge about two years ago. Her backyard is fenced in and backs up to Roberts Canal. It's a concrete-lined canal that's sprayed with herbicide by the city each year. However, an area between Brown's fence and where the canal starts is overgrown with trees and weeds. She's on a quest to figure out who's responsible for maintaining the area.
"It's an eyesore back here," she said.
The fence line in the back is L-shaped. Along with the weeds and trees growing between the fence and the canal, there is a power line. She says the area is not hers to maintain.
About a year ago, Brown contacted the parish to get help with the overgrown area. She says someone from the city visited her home to take a look and left. She didn't hear anything from them until she called the city to find out what happened.
"The City of Baton Rouge said that that's not their job, I have to get over there and cut everything down and I was hung up on," Brown said.
When Brown went looking for a house she knew she wanted a backyard. With the overgrowth, she says she hasn't had an opportunity to enjoy her yard like she thought she would.
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"We don't come out here as much due to the fact that it's overgrown and I don't like to look at it," she said.
Entergy says it's not typically involved with vegetation at the ground level. The city is checking to see if it is their responsibility to maintain but suggested Brown have her property line surveyed so she knows for sure where her property ends.