Landscaping Rules in Joliet, IL

If you live in Joliet or are thinking about moving there, landscaping rules are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Joliet has 5 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of landscaping rules, and some of them might surprise you.

Tree Removal & Heritage Trees

City Code Sec. 26-128(g) requires a tree permit before removing or damaging any public tree, and before cutting any private tree of four inches DBH (or a six-inch group) on covered land: city property, residential parcels over 1.5 acres, all nonresidential parcels, and any parcel with a required landscape plan.

Key details: Governing section: Code of Ordinances Sec. 26-128(g). Permit threshold: 4-inch DBH tree or 6-inch group. Unpermitted removal fine: $500 per inch of DBH. Other violations: $250 minimum fine. Replacement scale: 3 to 13 trees by DBH removed.

Cutting down or substantially destroying a regulated tree without a permit costs at least $500.00 per inch of DBH under Sec. 26-128(u), with every tree removed counted as a separate offense; any other violation of the tree preservation section draws a minimum $250.00 fine. Paying the fine doesn't erase the replacement-tree obligation, and the city can also sue for damages or an injunction under Sec. 26-128(v).

Weed Ordinances

Joliet caps weeds and grass at eight inches on any lot in the city under § 8-339, and treats taller growth or vegetation that's gone to seed as a nuisance under § 8-338. If an owner won't cut it, the city cuts it and files a lien to recover the cost.

Key details: Height limit: 8 inches, on any lot in the city. Governing sections: City Code §§ 8-338 through 8-341. City abatement: City may cut the lot and lien the cost. Default fine: $150-$750 per offense, § 1-8. Continuing violation: Each day is a separate offense.

Violating this division exposes an owner to the city's default fine schedule under § 1-8: not less than $150 nor more than $750 per offense, with every day the grass or weeds stay over eight inches a separate offense. On top of any fine, the city can mow the lot itself, or hire someone to, and record the cost as a lien on the property under § 8-341.

Native Plants

Joliet exempts a properly maintained managed natural landscape, native grasses, wildflowers, rain gardens and similar plantings, from the city's normal eight-inch weed cap under § 8-338(b). The exemption doesn't cover noxious weeds, hazardous plantings, or an abandoned lawn merely left to grow wild.

Key details: Right granted: Install/maintain a managed natural landscape. Height exemption: Exempt from the city's 8-inch weed cap. Not covered: Noxious weeds, hazards, abandoned turf-grass. Permit: None required or registered by the code. Adopted: Ord. No. 17233, 5-20-14.

A planting that doesn't meet the § 8-338(b) requirements, because it includes noxious weeds, creates a hazard, or is really just an abandoned lawn, loses the managed-natural-landscape exemption and falls back under the ordinary § 8-339 weed offense and the general § 1-8 fine schedule of $150 to $750 per offense, with each day of noncompliance a separate violation.

The rules around native plants in Joliet lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Water Restrictions

Joliet limits lawn watering from the city public water supply to 6-10 a.m. and 6-10 p.m., on an odd/even schedule tied to street address, with carve-outs for newly sodded lawns and large public-assembly venues under a director-approved water plan.

Key details: Watering hours: 6-10 a.m. and 6-10 p.m.. Schedule basis: Odd/even street address on matching calendar day. New sod exception: 14 days after notifying utilities director. Large-venue exception: 3,500+ capacity with approved water plan. Enforcement tool: Water shutoff after hearing (§ 31-128).

Section 31-128 puts every water customer under Chapter 31 and gives the city manager and director of utilities enforcement authority. After a hearing, the city manager or a delegate may shut off water service to any customer who violates the watering-day and hour limits in Section 31-126, in addition to any other remedy the chapter allows; the section does not list a separate cash fine for outdoor watering violations.

Tree Trimming

Sec. 26-131 makes property owners responsible for trimming trees, shrubs and plants next to any street or alley right-of-way, and sets hard clearance minimums: fifteen feet above the roadway and seven feet above the sidewalk.

Key details: Governing section: Code of Ordinances Sec. 26-131. Street clearance: 15 feet above the roadway. Sidewalk clearance: 7 feet above the sidewalk. Who must trim: Owner/occupant of adjacent property. If ignored: City trims and bills owner, plus prosecution.

Failing to keep the 15-foot street clearance or 7-foot sidewalk clearance after the city has given notice makes the owner liable for the city's cost of doing the trimming itself, in addition to being prosecuted for the ordinance violation, which carries the Code's general $150.00 to $750.00 fine under Sec. 1-8 since Sec. 26-131 sets no separate penalty amount.

The Bottom Line

Joliet's landscaping rules rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Joliet is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Joliet's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.