Who must cut grass in roadside ditches in Vivian, Louisiana?

Plain-English summary

Vivian's mayor asked who must cut grass and weeds in roadside ditches. The Louisiana Attorney General answered according to who owns or controls each ditch. If the Caddo Parish drainage district has authority over a ditch, its role must be considered first. For ditches outside that control, Vivian is responsible for ditches it owns and for ditches over which it has a servitude. A private owner is responsible for a ditch on the owner's property when the town has no servitude over it.

The opinion cautioned that a servitude over a road does not necessarily extend to the roadside ditch; its scope depends on how it was acquired. For privately owned ditches without a town servitude, Vivian may enforce its ordinance requiring owners to cut weeds and grass. The opinion did not classify every ditch in town by ownership or servitude.

What this means for you

Vivian public works officials

The opinion assigns town maintenance to ditches Vivian owns or over which it enjoys a servitude, unless drainage district authority changes the analysis. Whether a road servitude extends to the adjoining ditch depends on how that servitude was acquired.

Owners of roadside property

For a ditch on private property without a town servitude, the opinion places maintenance with the owner. The town may require cutting grass and weeds through its cited ordinance.

Drainage district officials

The AG first noted that the Caddo Parish Gravity Drainage District may control some roadside ditches. The opinion did not decide which particular ditches are within its control.

Common questions

Q: Does Vivian have to mow every ditch next to a town street?
A: No. The opinion makes responsibility depend on district control, town ownership, or a town servitude, rather than the ditch's roadside location alone.

Q: If the town has a drainage servitude over my ditch, who maintains it?
A: The opinion says Vivian maintains ditches over which it enjoys a servitude. It also cautions that the scope of a road servitude must be determined; it may not include the ditch.

Q: Can Vivian require a private owner to cut grass in a privately owned ditch?
A: Yes, for a ditch without a town servitude, the AG said Vivian may enforce its ordinance requiring owners to cut grass and weeds.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion referred to drainage district authority under La. R.S. 38:1767 and 38:1794(D), municipal ditch improvement authority, Civil Code servitude principles, and La. R.S. 33:5062's allowance for local property maintenance ordinances. It applied these rules to three ownership or control categories rather than declaring one blanket roadside rule.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 38:1767, drainage district authority discussed.
• La. R.S. 33:5062, municipal authority for property maintenance ordinances.
• Vivian Code of Ordinances §§ 8-31–8-36, the grass and weed ordinance discussed.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0137

Original opinion text

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARmIF:NT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATToRNE GENERAL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROuGE, LA
70804-9005

Liz MuRRIIj.
ATT0RNrY GFNF:HAL
AprI 23, 2025
OP!N!ON 24-0137

90-B-i PUBLiC LANDS State Lands Homestead; Rights ofWay, Transfer
-

  The Honorable Ronnie Festavan        La. R.S. 33:3062                          La. Const. art. §4
  Mayor   Town of Vivian               La R.S 33:3521                            La. CC. art. 646

I ‘
La. R S. 38:1767
La. CC. art. 651
P.o Box 832 La. R S. 38:1794 La. CC. art. 667
Vivian, LA 71 082
La. CC. art. 744

When the drainage district does not have authority over the roadside ditches, the Town is responsible for the maintenance of any ditches which it owns or
—
over which it enjoys servitude. Private citizens are responsible for maintaining
Dear Mayor F-estavan: ditches cn their prop5rty that are not subject to a servitude. Tha Town may
compel private citizens to ciii the crass in their ditches through the enforcement oVivian Codes § 3.31-8.36.

You have requested an opinion from this office addressing who is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the grass, weeds, and other wild growth that grows in the ditches alongside the roads in the Town of Vivian (‘the Town”).

Question: Who is responsible for cutting the grass, weeds, and wild growth in the ditches that are adjacent to the Town’s roads and streets?

Conclusion: It is the opinion of this office that the party responsible for cutting the grass, weeds, and wild growth from these ditches depends on who owns or controls the ditch at issue. The Town is respoflsible for maintaining ditches owned by the town and ditches over which the town enjoys a servitude. Maintenance of ditches owned by private citizens over whc the Town does not enjoy a servitude is the responsibility of the private citizen owner. The Town may compel private citizens to cut the grass in their ditches through the enforcement of Code of Ordinances, Town of Vivian, Louisiana, § 8-31 836. -

You acknowledge in your opinion request that the roadside ditches in the Town may be owned by the Town or by private citizens. In additan, you recognize that the Town may have a servitude over some of the cHtches. Accordingy, we will address the following three categories of ditches: 1) ditches owned y the Town; 2) ditches over which the Town enjoys a servitude; and 3) ditches owned by private citizens over which the Town does not enjoy a servitude.

As a preliminary matter, we note that the Town is located wthiri the Caddo Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 1. Caddo Parish Code § 44-303. According to La. R.S. 38:1767 and 38:1794(D), the drainage district has contro! over the ditcn, if any of the roadside ditches in question are within the drainage district. In La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 07-0085, our office opined that La. R.S. 38:1767 and 38:1794(D) “are illustrative of the fact that a drainage

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OPINION 24-0137
Mayor Ronnie Festavan
Page 2
district’s board of commissioners has the authority to perform all necessary work associated with the maintenance of the drains, ditches, and canals within its district.”

With regard to roadside ditches owned by the Town, we note that ownership inherently carries the obligation of maintenance. See La. CC. art. 667. Louisiana Revised Statute 33:3521 reinforces this by granting municipalities the authority to order improvements to drainage ditches or performing other necessary work. In addition, the Town has passed an ordinance requiring the owner, his agent, or other person in control of any lot, place, property or area with the Town to cut, destroy or remove weeds or grass, or other deleterious, unhealthy, or noxious growths or accumulations within a height of equal to or greater than twelve inches, lying or located in or upon any such lot, place, property, or area or on any sidewalk abutting any such lot, place, property, or area. Code of Ordinances, Town of Vivian, Louisiana, § 8-31. Therefore, any maintenance or improvements of ditches owned by the Town would be its responsibility.

We next address the ditches over which the Town enjoys a servitude. Louisiana Civil Code article 651 states, in part, “[t]he owner of the sentient estate is not required to do anything. His obligation is to abstain from doing something on his estate or to permit something to be done on it.” In addition, La. CC. art. 744 provides, “[t]he owner of the dominant estate has the right to make, at his expense, all the works that are necessary for the use and preservation of the servitude.” We further note that Louisiana courts have determined that expenses such as maintenance ofthe servitude may only be assigned to the servient owner by contractual agreement. Markel v. Price, 2023-0704 (La. App. 4 Cir. 5/30/24), 391 So.3d 30, 31 ; Sharp v. St. Tammany Par. Ex rel. Dep’t of Pub. Works, 2006-0815 (La. App. I Cir. 2/14/07), 2007 WL 466777, at *2 (unpublished). Thus, the Town has the obligation to maintain the ditches over which it enjoys a servitude.

It should also be noted, however, that even though the Town may enjoy a servitude over a road, whether that servitude extends to the roadside ditches depends upon how that servitude was acquired. For example, servitudes acquired through the application of La. R.S. 48:491 do not extend to roadside ditches. See La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 84-332A.

Lastly, there are the ditches which the Town neither owns nor has a servitude. In these instances, a private owner of property has the right to enjoy the property as he sees fit subject to reasonable statutory restrictions.1 The Legislature has enacted reasonable statutory restrictions under La. R.S. 33:5062:

The governing authority of any municipality may enact ordinances requiring that property be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition, including ordinances providing for the cutting, destruction, or removal of noxious weeds or grass or other deleterious, unhealthful, or noxious growths on any sidewalks or banquettes and on any lot, place, or area within the municipality.. .

1 La. Const. art. I § 4

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OPINION 24-0137
Mayor Ronnie Festavan
Page 3
In accordance with this statute, the Town has enacted Code of Ordinances, Town of Vivian, Louisiana, § 8-31-8-36. Therefore, the Town hasthe powerto compeithe private owners of the roadside ditches, over which the Town enjoys no servitude, to cut the grass in the ditches in accordance with these ordinances.

Considering the foregoing, it is the opinion of this office that the Town is responsible for the maintenance of any ditches which t owns or over which it enjoys servitude. Private citizens are responsible for maintaining ditches on their property that are not subject to a servitude. The Town may compel private citizens to cut the grass in their ditches through the enforcement of Code of Ordinances, Town of Vivian, Louisiana, § 8-31-8-36.

We trust this adequately responds to your request. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTONEY ENERAL

BY:
.122 (‘2S K.
Tyfer J. $avoy
Assistant Attorney General

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