A tall grass and weeds complaint filed in April sat in Tulsa's code enforcement backlog for months before being elevated to the city's highest priority after a 2 News Oklahoma investigation.Lisa Burt filed a complaint in April a bout overgrown weeds on the corner of West 55th Place and South 40th West Avenue, the same complaint she filed each of the past three years.The city classified it as a priority-3 nuisance, code enforcement's lowest priority, which can take weeks or even months before an investigator checks it out. Frustrated by the lack of action, Burt contacted the Problem Solvers.After 2 News reported on the case and showed the city the conditions at the intersection, the city elevated the complaint from priority 3 to priority1, its highest priority, because the overgrown weeds blocked the sight line at the corner, posing a traffic hazard for drivers turning the corner."Lisa, what's happened since we last talked? 2 News asked. "Nothing," she replied. "You can tell, there's nothing been done except them posting that this needs to be taken care of," Burt said. The city issued a notice giving the property owner until July 27 to clear the lot. If the owner does not comply, the city sends an abatement crew to clean it up and bill the property owner. If that bill goes unpaid, the city places a lien on the property."If they don't want to take care of their property, then let the city do it," Burt said.Records indicate a church trust in Oklahoma City owns the property. 2 News attempted to reach the trust by phone multiple times, but could not leave a message. "It says the mailbox is full and there's not enough space to leave a message."Tall grass and weeds complaints make up the bulk of Tulsa's code enforcement caseload, according to a city official. In mid-July, the priority-3 backlog topped 2,700 cases. 2 News tracked the city's backlog of cases for the past three summers."About 85% of our cases are tall grass and weeds, and so with the rain that we've had in June, um, you know, those are the majority of the cases that we're working. So, you know, we get a lot of citizen complaints about tall grass and weeds during the summertime," James said. Despite the volume, James said most cases are resolved without fuss once the property owner is notified of the issue."About 2/3 of our cases are solved by voluntary compliance, meaning that you know when we send the notice or make contact with the owner, that they ultimately solve the issue before we have to go and do an abatement," James said.As 2 News previously reported, the city is hiring three new workers for its code enforcement office to help it be able to investigate complaints in a more timely fashion. But those employees are not expected to be on the payroll and trained in time to handle investigating cases this summer.2 News is going to check back on July 27 to see whether the church trust or the city cleans up the lot.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Contact the Problem Solvers: 918-748-1502 [email protected] in touch with us anytime, anywhere -- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices. Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube ...read more read less