How Lakewood Handles Landscaping Rules: A Practical Guide

Lakewood maintains 113 local ordinances across all categories, and 8 of those deal specifically with landscaping rules. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Lakewood falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Grass Height Limits

Lakewood requires lawns to be kept below six inches; grass or weeds at six inches or higher violate Chapter 1775 and are subject to citation.

Key details: Code Section: LCO 1775.01(a)(32). Height Limit: 6 inches (turf target 5 in.). Cure Period: 48 hours after notice. Abatement Cost: $100/hour.

Citation under Chapter 1775; if uncorrected after notice, City abatement at $100/hour assessed to the property owner.

Tree Trimming

Lakewood's Forestry Unit maintains and trims all 13,100+ trees on public property, including tree-lawn (parkway) trees; residents should not prune them and instead request service from Streets & Forestry.

Key details: Public Trees: Maintained by City Forestry. Tree-Lawn Trees: City trims and removes. Inventory: 13,100+ public trees. Oversight: LCO Ch. 152 (Tree Board).

Unauthorized cutting or removal of a public tree-lawn tree should be reported to Streets & Forestry (streets@lakewoodoh.gov); the City performs all trimming and removal of public trees.

Water Restrictions

Lakewood imposes no mandatory lawn-watering ban; it buys water from Cleveland and offers a voluntary Summer Sprinkling Program that credits summer outdoor water use against the sewer charge.

Key details: Watering Ban: None (voluntary program). Water Source: Cleveland Water (Lake Erie). Program: Summer Sprinkling Program. Application Deadline: April 30.

No penalty - outdoor watering is unrestricted; the Summer Sprinkling Program is a voluntary billing benefit, not a regulation.

Lakewood is more permissive than most cities when it comes to water restrictions. That said, there are still limits.

Tree Removal & Heritage Trees

Lakewood Section 1775.02 prohibits any vegetation taller than three feet in the public right-of-way that impedes visibility for motorists and pedestrians; the City also removes hazardous or dead public trees.

Key details: Code Section: LCO 1775.02. ROW Height Limit: 3 feet where it blocks visibility. Public Tree Removal: City removes hazardous/dead trees. Related: Sight triangles - LCO 1775.03.

Vegetation over three feet that blocks right-of-way visibility must be cut back; failure after notice can be abated by the City under Chapter 1775 with costs charged to the owner.

Native Plants

Lakewood Section 1775.03 (Ord. 18-2025) lets residents install front-yard 'managed natural landscapes' of native or ornamental plants, rain gardens, and meadow vegetation, subject to setbacks and sight triangles.

Key details: Code Section: LCO 1775.03 (Ord. 18-2025). Allowed: Native plants, rain gardens, meadows. Corner Lot Setback: 4 ft + sight triangle. Interior Lot Setback: 2 ft + sight triangle.

A planting that violates the setback, sight-triangle, or noxious-weed rules loses its exemption and may be cited as tall grass/weeds under Section 1775.01.

Lakewood is more permissive than most cities when it comes to native plants. That said, there are still limits.

Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is fully legal in Lakewood and Ohio places no restrictions on residential collection. Rain barrels connected to downspouts are encouraged by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, which sometimes offers rebate programs to reduce stormwater runoff into the combined sewer system.

Key details: Legality: Fully legal. Permit: Not required (outdoor use). Rebates: NEORSD programs. Benefit: Reduces CSO overflow. Indoor Plumbing: Permit required.

No violations for standard outdoor rain barrels. Unpermitted indoor potable plumbing connections violate the Ohio Plumbing Code and Lakewood building code, subject to stop-work order and a minor misdemeanor fine up to $150 under CO 1301.99.

The rules around rainwater harvesting in Lakewood lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Artificial Turf

Artificial turf is permitted in Lakewood residential yards but must be installed with proper drainage under the zoning code and cannot be used in required front-yard landscape setbacks as the sole ground cover for new construction. Historic district properties may face additional review by the Lakewood Historic Preservation Commission.

Key details: Legality: Allowed. Drainage: Required (§1305). Front Yard (new build): Restricted. Historic Districts: COA required. Impervious Cap: Per zoning district.

Improper drainage causing runoff: notice of violation, 30-day cure, up to $150/day fine under §1305.99. Historic district installation without a Certificate of Appropriateness: stop-work order and removal order. Non-compliance with landscape plan conditions in new builds: certificate of occupancy withheld.

Weed Ordinances

Lakewood Section 1775.01 lists 31 noxious weeds (Canada thistle, giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed, poison hemlock and more) that owners must cut or destroy within forty-eight hours of notice.

Key details: City Code: LCO 1775.01(a). State Law: ORC 731.51. Cure Period: 48 hours after city notice. Listed Weeds: 31 named species.

If the City cuts or destroys the weeds, the cost is billed to the owner; under ORC 731.53 unpaid abatement costs may be assessed as a lien against the property.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Lakewood actively enforces its weed ordinances requirements.

The Bottom Line

Compared to many U.S. cities, Lakewood gives residents more room on landscaping rules. 3 of the 8 rules here are rated permissive. But permissive does not mean unregulated. There are still requirements, and the city does enforce them when violations are reported.

Keep in mind that Lakewood can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.