In an effort to reduce City mowing costs, and to be fair and equitable to all Burnsville property owners living adjacent to a boulevard, the City will no longer be funding the mowing of boulevards adjacent to any private property beginning in 2021.
In 2010 the City ended the mowing of all boulevards adjacent to private property except residential hardship boulevards. In 2020 the City approved a policy that ended the City mowing all private boulevards including hardships. A hardship is defined in this situation as a boulevard that is difficult to gain access to from the property owner’s yard.
The City did create a new program whereby the City would mow these hardship boulevards for a fee for those who opt-in to the program each year. This program is known as the Residential Hardship Boulevard Mowing Program (RHBMP) and was approved on September 22, 2020 (read full policy) based on outreach and open houses prior to creating this policy. Watch a discussion of this topic and resulting action at the City Council work session.
The RHBMP is an opt-in program and is limited to those boulevards already considered a hardship. For those who make a request and submit payment, the City will mow your hardship boulevard for one growing season. Property owners who have one of these boulevards may enter into the program by mailing back a request with the payment (the City has sent out letters to each property owner eligible to be in the program) or by enrolling online. If property owners do not opt-in to this program, the City will no longer mow these boulevards; it is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner to maintain these boulevards according to City Ordinance 7-1-9: Weeds and Growing Grass. Options for these boulevards are included in the policy appendix .