The LRA board approved the 55 applicants at its monthly meeting on June 29.

About 4,000 of its lots are available. None has a wider frontage than 30 feet — a standard city lot — and they must have been owned by LRA for more than three years, an indication that they probably aren’t hot properties for larger projects. They also can’t be contiguous to three or more other LRA lots, another factor of interest to developers. And they can’t have abandoned buildings on them.

City Hall regards it as a win-win thing — residents can enlarge their properties and the city has fewer lots to mow. St. Louis spends about $1 million annually mowing and cleaning LRA lots. Participants have to keep the grass no higher than six inches from April through October.

Maggie Crane, spokeswoman for Slay, said the LRA had rejected seven applicants for reasons including failure to pay their own property taxes and requesting lots that are too large. If a participant fails to keep the lots mowed and cleaned, the city can cancel the deal.

Crane said the city was receiving more applications. She said the 55 approvals in late June, compared with seven in the first month, showed the program was gaining in popularity.

Interested property owners can apply by searching “mow to own” on the city website or by calling the LRA at 314-657-3721.

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