The Bay City Code of Ordinances addresses our responsibility for property maintenance;
Section 110-27 states

“It shall be the duty of each owner, possessor or occupier of land, and of every person having charge of any land within the city, to cut or remove and destroy all noxious weeds. Noxious weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants, and vegetation other than trees or shrubs; provided, however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens. All noxious weeds shall be cut or removed and destroyed on or before May 1 of each year. Thereafter, all noxious weeds shall be cut or removed and destroyed before they reach a height of six (6”) inches on lands adjacent to a residence or a height of eight inches on vacant lands or commercial property and, in any case, as necessary to prevent all noxious weeds from going to seed or otherwise spreading or becoming a detriment to the public health.”

The grass program runs from May 1 through October 31. Failure to comply with this code will result in the City undertaking the cutting and/or clean up and presenting the owner with a bill for services. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Code Enforcement at (989) 894-8176 or by email at scoggin@baycitymi.org. 

IMPORTANT SANITATION NEWS  

 
Yard waste collection.  Starting the week of April 13^th, residents began to set out yard waste and tied and bundled brush on their regular trash and recycling collection day. Yard waste collection is a seasonal service and runs through the end of November.

All materials must be to the curb before 7:00 a.m. on collection day. Visit www.baycityrecycles.org or call (989) 894-8312 for complete set out guidelines.

Bulk Items and overflow trash. The collection of bulk items and overflow trash was suspended beginning Monday, April 13 until further notice. To protect Sanitation employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic, collection is suspended for bulk items such as oversized materials, furniture, appliances, and excess bags of trash placed outside of the trash cart.
 
Loose brush collection.  Loose brush collection service also began on Monday, April 13^th. This is an extra for-fee service offered seasonally through November. A loose brush collection fee will be charged in accordance with Solid Waste Ordinance Section 86-78. Loose brush is considered branches and trimmings too large to tie and bundle for set out with yard waste material. 

Note: Tied and bundled brush is accepted with yard waste at no-charge, April through November.
 
Loose brush fees are waived for initial spring yard clean up. Service is provided free of charge to households from April 13 through May 15 using the following schedule:
 
Eastside – from April 13 through April 30
Westside – from May 1 through May 15
 
AFTER May 15^th Appointments are required for loose brush service (May 15 through October 31). A minimum $30.00 service charge applies for up to 15 minutes of service and a $25.00 charge for each additional 15-minute interval. Brush must be set out no more than 48 hours prior to the scheduled appointment day.
 
Residents are advised to take notice of the following:

• Any loose brush generated from the removal of a tree or a substantial portion of a tree, either by a resident or a hired tree service, will not be chipped or removed by the city.
• Any loose brush placed out for collection that is outside the scope of the above guidelines shall be deemed a nuisance and handled accordingly.

 
More loose brush set out and service details can be found at www.baycityrecycles.org. 

As a municipal owned utility, we pride ourselves on providing reliable service and keeping the lights on. 

In 2019 Bay City Electric Light and Power experienced 51 outages, with only seven caused by the weather. Instead most of the outages were the result of equipment failure and wildlife. The number of outages are tracked, as well as the severity and duration.

The American Public Power Association’s eReliability Tracker software is used to record and report reliability statistics.