But the decision, which was passed on a 5-2 vote, wasn't widely favored among city personnel. City Manager Jeff Doherty was opposed to an ordinance raising the legal height of grass from six to eight inches before the council voted, and he said afterward that the city council's decision will not solve anything.

"It lowers the standards of the community," Doherty said of land owners letting their grass grow to high levels on a regular basis. "These people are not going to cut their grass. All this (ordinance) means is that the grass is going to be another two inches taller before it's cut."

Doherty said those who cut their lawns on a weekly basis will not have problems keeping their grass up to code. But those who wait three or four weeks to mow will have grass that exceeds the legal limit, and they will be written up.

A property owner's first offense at one location each year will earn a warning, but if the ordinance is violated again, the owner is issued a $75 fine and told to have the grass cut within a week, Doherty said. If the grass is still not cut, the city hires a private contractor to cut the grass at the owner's expense, which costs another $80, but may take as long as a week before the contractor can cut the lawn. Doherty said if it takes two weeks for lawns to be cut after a warning has been issued, the grass will have grown to more than a foot tall, which reflects poorly on the community.

As of Thursday, the city had issued 570 grass-related notifications since April to landowners, and Doherty said many of the violators are multiple offenders who let their grass grow long at least once a month.

Barrett Rochman, a Carbondale landowner who has been in support of the higher-grass ordinance since the issue was raised at city council meetings in May and June of 2002, said his position was not based on when grass should be cut so it looks good. He said the grass should be allowed to grow to eight inches because that's the level most northern Illinois communities have determined to be a good height, and because taller grass will save water and gas used to maintain shorter lawns. He also said taller grass has less of a chance of being scorched by the sun.

"If you cut the grass before it's eight inches, it isn't healthy," Rochman said. "And if you cut the grass to under three-and-a-half inches, the sun burns it."

The same ordinance that was rejected last year under the five-member council was passed Tuesday by the new seven-member council. Councilwoman Sheila Simon, who took office in May, joined Councilwoman Corene McDaniel in casting the only two dissenting votes.

Simon said she was opposed to the ordinance after hearing Doherty's recommendation to the council, which she said was not met with convincing verbal opposition by council members who passed the ordinance.

"I didn't really hear a case made for why the grass should be raised," Simon said. "As a lawyer, I like to have both sides developed and then hear the reasoning of both sides."

brian.peach@thesouthern.com 618-529-5454 x15071