Should Cities Regulate the Height of Grass on Your Property?

According to many cities, a "natural lawn" is no more than "noxious weeds" and deserves swift action and possibly a fine. Consider the following scenario.

The $175 One-time Mowing Service (or, Why You Should Skip Law School and Go Into the Apparently Lucrative Lawn Mowing Business)

It is springtime. You dust off the trusty old mower. Even though the grass is only a few inches tall, you mow it in a perfect criss-cross pattern. Aaah, the sweet scent of fresh cut grass.

Fast forward to August. It is the end of summer. You trudge out in the blazing sun, across the too-tall grass, and into the storage shed where your dirty mower is located. As you step inside to pull out the mower, you narrowly miss the fury of a red wasp. You slowly mow the tall grass and try to keep the mower going. Dirt kicks up and sticks to your already sweat-drenched skin. Ugh, the heat and drudgery of keeping the grass cut.

Your mind wanders to your upcoming vacation on that sparkling Caribbean island. Perhaps you will let the lawn return to its natural, tall grassland state while you are away lounging on the beach. Isn't a natural lawn better for the environment anyway?

After your rejuvenating vacation in the Caribbean, you return home to find that your tall grass oasis has been mowed down to short, stultifying brownness. As you go through your pile of mail, you also find a hefty bill from your local municipality for $175 for this "service." You have just been subjected to what is often referred to as a "noxious weed" or "maximum grass height" law.

A Sampling of Grass or Weed Height Laws

Many cities across the nation have city ordinances that mandate the maximum height of grass you can have on your property. The maximum height is often twelve inches, although this number varies by city.

The city of Beachwood, Ohio has the following confusing ordinances: "Grass has a maximum of eight inches (Ordinance 1319.10 (g)). Weeds have a maximum of twelve inches (Ordinance 660.16)." Huh? In this city, one must be well versed in distinguishing the "grass" from the "weeds" in order to know which maximum height is allowed.

The city of Corinth, Texas mandates that all turf grass, including but not limited to Bermuda, St Augustine, Fescue, and Ryegrass blends, must be kept to a maximum height of six inches. Six inches? Must everyone's lawn resemble a golf course? King of the Hill fans will note that the main character in the television show, Hank Hill, who is obsessed with his lawn, is not an anomaly in Texas.

In Norman, Oklahoma, where the author of this article resides, the maximum height for "noxious weeds" (read: 'grass' or 'the lawn on your private property') is twelve (12) inches. If the crab grass starts shooting up tall seed heads approaching twelve inches, be sure you will soon see a posted sign in your yard indicating you are in violation of the noxious weed ordinance. Yes, the city of Norman actually posts a sign in your yard for all your neighbors to see your transgression. Remedy the situation (i.e., mow your yard) in a few days or else the city will do it for you at a hefty cost.

Questions for the Lawn Police

If putting-green-grass were the ideal, wouldn't one have to water a lot more to keep the shorter grass an appealing green hue? Isn't this a waste of precious water resources? In the city of Norman, where the city regularly promotes water conservation through its "Every Drop Counts" campaign, this is a bit of a conundrum.

Don't cities have more important things to do than send out lawn police? Rather than arming city workers with yardsticks, shouldn't municipalities focus on important environmental issues - perhaps such issues as the massive pollution caused by excessive driving of private motor vehicles. Sending out lawn police in their vehicles to check up on your mowing habits surely results in the unnecessary burning of fuel, causing smog and pollution in your city.

What to do? Take it up with the city. Good luck.