Moving to Lehi, UT? Here Are the Local Rules You Should Know

Lehi, Utah may not be the biggest city in the state, but it has its own set of local rules that residents need to follow. With 115 tracked ordinances across 34 categories, there is more here than you might expect.

Fire Regulations

Wildfire Zones: Lehi has adopted the 2018 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code as its local wildfire construction standard under City Code section 10-2-1(E), with the Fire Marshal serving as the enforcing authority having jurisdiction. New buildings in the Dry Creek Corridor requiring Class 1 or Class 2 ignition-resistant construction must include an approved automatic sprinkler system, and violations carry a class B misdemeanor with a fine between $100 and $1,000..

Also covered: Fireworks (moderate), Brush Clearance (moderate), Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (permissive). See the full fire regulations guide for Lehi for details.

Soliciting & Door-to-Door

Solicitor Permits: Anyone going door to door in Lehi to sell goods or services must get a certificate from the City's Licensing Officer before knocking on a single door. The application requires a criminal background check, photo ID verification, and a signed disclosure form, and solicitation itself is capped to the hours of 9:00 A.M.

Also covered: No-Knock Registry (moderate). See the full soliciting & door-to-door guide for Lehi for details.

Water Use Rules

Leak Reporting Duty: Lehi treats an undiscovered or uncorrected leak, break or malfunction in a user's secondary (pressurized irrigation) water plumbing as prohibited waste of water. Users get a presumed 48 hours from discovery, or from city notice, to fix it before it counts as a violation..

Also covered: Turf Replacement Rebates (moderate). See the full water use rules guide for Lehi for details.

Business Licensing & Operations

Adult Entertainment: Lehi confines sexually oriented businesses to zones set by Development Code section 12.190 and requires a separate sexually oriented business license plus a bond on top of a general business license. Seminude entertainment venues must sit at least 400 feet from any alcohol-licensed business, and alcohol is banned on the premises entirely..

Also covered: Tobacco Retail License (restrictive), Towing Companies (restrictive). See the full business licensing & operations guide for Lehi for details.

Environmental Rules

Stormwater Management: Lehi regulates stormwater system design, construction, illicit discharges and inspections citywide under a dedicated 2018 ordinance built to satisfy NPDES/UPDES permit requirements. First offenses are class C misdemeanors, second offenses class B, plus civil penalties and cost recovery..

Also covered: Flood Zones (restrictive), Flood Elevation Requirements (restrictive), Erosion Control (moderate). See the full environmental rules guide for Lehi for details.

Hotels & Lodging

Transient Occupancy Tax: Lehi levies a 1% transient room tax on rents charged to guests at hotels, motels, motor courts, inns, bed and breakfasts, condominiums and resort homes. Operators must file quarterly reports and remit the tax to the city treasurer by the 30th of the month after each calendar quarter..

Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules

Obstruction Rules: Lehi bans leaving vehicles, machinery or other objects on a street, alley or sidewalk in a way that blocks passage, and separately bans congregating on a public sidewalk so as to obstruct people entering or leaving nearby buildings. Both are prosecutable misdemeanors under the City Code..

Property Maintenance

Snow & Sidewalk Clearing: Lehi requires the occupant or owner of any property abutting a platted street to keep the sidewalk in front of the premises clean of weeds, ice, snow, rubbish and obstructions. There is no fixed hours-after-snowfall deadline written into the section, but failure is a class B misdemeanor by default..

Also covered: Vacant Lot Maintenance (moderate), Property Blight (moderate). See the full property maintenance guide for Lehi for details.

Public Conduct

Aggressive Panhandling: Lehi's aggressive solicitation ordinance, City Code chapter 6-7, bans panhandling within 30 feet of a bank or ATM, blocking pedestrians or vehicles, touching people, using threats or profanity, and soliciting after being told no. Violating any of section 6-7-4's prohibitions is a class B misdemeanor under section 6-7-5..

Also covered: Skateboarding Rules (moderate), Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (moderate), Loitering Rules (limited). See the full public conduct guide for Lehi for details.

Animal Ordinances

Exotic Pets: Lehi bans keeping wild animals as pets outright. City Code Section 6-4E-5 makes it unlawful to sell, keep or purchase any wild animal, a defined list running from bears and coyotes to venomous snakes and primates, unless the keeper is a zoo, veterinary hospital, humane shelter, lab or licensed exhibition with adequate containment..

Also covered: Pet Limits (moderate), Dog Leash Laws (restrictive), Breed Restrictions (restrictive). See the full animal ordinances guide for Lehi for details.

Parking Rules

Commercial & Oversized Vehicles: Lehi prohibits parking any vehicle of 16,000 pounds or more, any semitractor or semitrailer, or any vehicle that normally carries explosives, corrosives or flammable substances, anywhere on a street or right-of-way in a residential zone under City Code section 7-1-2.A. Limited loading and unloading is allowed only if there is no usable off-street space..

Also covered: Preferential Parking Districts (moderate), Overnight Parking (moderate), Snow Removal Parking Rules (moderate). See the full parking rules guide for Lehi for details.

Building Safety

Fire Sprinkler Requirements: City Code section 10-3-1 requires an automatic fire sprinkler system in new homes built under the International Residential Code when any one of six conditions is met, from a wildland-urban interface location to inadequate water flow or a steep fire-access road. It applies in addition to, not instead of, the separate WUI Code sprinkler mandate for the Dry Creek Corridor..

Also covered: Plumbing Permits (moderate), Electrical Permits (moderate), Building Permits (moderate). See the full building safety guide for Lehi for details.

Noise Ordinances

Vehicle Noise: Lehi makes it unlawful to operate a vehicle with its engine compression brake, or 'jake brake,' engaged anywhere in the city except to avoid imminent danger, under City Code section 7-1-4. The sound of the compression noise itself counts as proof of the violation, and it's a class C misdemeanor..

Also covered: Decibel Limits (moderate), Quiet Hours (moderate), Construction Hours (limited). See the full noise ordinances guide for Lehi for details.

Noise from Specific Sources

Bar & Nightclub Noise: Lehi bars, restaurants, discotheques and dance halls cannot sustain sound above 105 dBA at any time. Once a venue hits that ceiling, the code forces a mandatory 10-minute break at or below 85 dBA before the venue can resume..

Also covered: Car Alarm Limits (moderate), Delivery Truck Noise (moderate). See the full noise from specific sources guide for Lehi for details.

Outdoor Cooking

BBQ & Propane Rules: Lehi City Code bars charcoal grills, propane burners and other open-flame cookers from being operated on combustible balconies or within ten feet of combustible construction. The rule targets apartment and condo balconies citywide, though one- and two-family homes and buildings protected by automatic sprinklers are exempt.

Curfew Laws

Park Curfew: Lehi bans being in any city park or recreation area between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Trash & Recycling

Illegal Dumping: It is unlawful to dump, bury or place solid waste, or any other offensive substance, on any lot, street, alley or waterway within Lehi city limits. Lehi City Code § 5-1-4 bans the practice outright, and a violation is a class C misdemeanor under § 5-1-14..

Also covered: Pickup Rules & Schedules (moderate), Bin Placement Rules (moderate), Collection Schedule (moderate). See the full trash & recycling guide for Lehi for details.

Short-Term Rentals

Repeat Violator Strikes: Lehi ties every short-term rental's annual business license renewal to its complaint history: Development Code Section 12.240.F requires the applicant to show any valid complaint about the property has been resolved before the City will renew the license for another year..

Also covered: Short-Term Rental Permits (moderate), Noise Rules (moderate), Host Presence Rule (moderate). See the full short-term rentals guide for Lehi for details.

Public Health Rules

Rodent Control: Lehi has no standalone rodent-control ordinance; it controls rodent habitat by regulating overgrown vegetation. City code declares weeds, vegetation and grass a nuisance whenever they create a breeding place for insects or rodents, and enforces that through the weed abatement article's height standard and inspection process..

Special Events & Permits

Block Party Permits: Lehi City requires a special event permit before any block party, festival, or gathering that closes a street or otherwise uses city property in a way that interferes with normal public access. Chapter 4-6 of the city code sets a 30-day advance filing deadline, application fees, a refundable security deposit, and mandatory liability insurance before the city recorder will issue a permit..

Also covered: Street Fair Rules (moderate). See the full special events & permits guide for Lehi for details.

Right to Farm

Farm Nuisance Protection: Lehi's Development Code shields existing farms from nuisance friction with new subdivisions. Any development built next to agricultural land must fence the boundary, and the final plat must carry a permanent notice warning future residents that farm sounds, odors, and livestock risks are normal and expected..

Also covered: Agricultural Zoning Protection (limited). See the full right to farm guide for Lehi for details.

Fence Regulations

Material Restrictions: Barbed wire is allowed in Lehi only on agricultural land in the A-5, A-1 and RA-1 zones and for security purposes in the LI and PF zones, plus temporarily anywhere during construction. Razor wire fencing is banned citywide unless state or federal law specifically requires it for security..

Also covered: Fence Permit Requirements (moderate), Height Limits (moderate), Retaining Walls (moderate). See the full fence regulations guide for Lehi for details.

Outdoor Lighting

Dark Sky Rules: Lehi requires all new outdoor lighting to be fully shielded and aimed downward, shuts most fixtures off by 10 p.m. or an hour after closing, and caps color temperature at 3,000 Kelvin or less to curb blue-rich light.

Also covered: Light Trespass & Shielding (moderate), Billboard Lighting (moderate). See the full outdoor lighting guide for Lehi for details.

Accessory Structures

Shed & Carport Rules: Lehi bars accessory buildings and sheds from any required front yard and from utility easements, caps rear-yard coverage at 30 percent of the lot, and scales side and rear setbacks to the structure's height under Development Code Sections 26.050, 26.060 and 26.070..

Also covered: ADU Rental Restrictions (moderate), ADU Impact Fees (moderate), ADU Rules (moderate). See the full accessory structures guide for Lehi for details.

Solar Energy

Panel Permits: Lehi allows roof-mounted solar panels as a permitted use on any structure in any zoning district, so no conditional use hearing is needed. Panels are capped at a 10 kW output for homes and cannot connect to the grid until Lehi Power inspects the system..

Home Business

Signage Rules: Lehi bans signs and product displays entirely for home occupations. Section 20.020(L) allows no exterior advertising of any kind, a flat prohibition rather than a size or number limit like commercial zoning signage rules..

Also covered: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (restrictive), Customer Traffic Restrictions (moderate), Home Daycare (restrictive). See the full home business guide for Lehi for details.

Zoning Overlays & Bonuses

Density Bonus Law: Lehi's Planned Community (PC) Zone lets developers exceed the base density of three units per acre by up to 40 percent by providing amenities the city values, from recreation facilities to open space and street beautification. The Planning Commission recommends and the City Council decides the final bonus when it approves the Area Plan..

Also covered: Downtown Design Guide (moderate). See the full zoning overlays & bonuses guide for Lehi for details.

Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors

Vending Zones: Food trucks in Lehi may set up wherever the Development Code allows as a temporary use, but never on a street with a speed limit over 35 mph, never on a landscaped parking strip, and never within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, utility box, ADA ramp, or building entrance..

Also covered: Food Truck Permits (moderate). See the full food trucks & mobile vendors guide for Lehi for details.

Landscaping Rules

Tree Trimming: Lehi property owners must keep trees and shrubs pruned clear of sidewalks and sight lines: 15 feet of clearance above streets, 8 feet above sidewalks, and dead or hazardous limbs removed within five days of notice..

Also covered: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (moderate), Native Plants (limited), Water Restrictions (moderate). See the full landscaping rules guide for Lehi for details.

Historic Preservation

Historic-Cultural Monuments: Lehi designates individual properties as Landmark Sites when they impart high artistic, historic, or cultural values and meet the Development Code's 50-year-age and integrity tests. Once designated, no exterior change to the site can happen without a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission..

Cannabis Regulations

Buffer Zones: Lehi keeps cannabis cultivation, production and medical pharmacy businesses well away from where people gather. Development Code Section 12.130.M.3 bars any cannabis-related business within 1,000 feet of a school, licensed child-care facility, church, library, playground or park, and within 600 feet of any residential zoning district..

Invasive Plant Rules

Prohibited Species: Lehi's community forestry code defines invasive species and lets the Urban Forester order removal of any Public Tree or vegetation in the public right-of-way that qualifies, without needing the owner's consent..

Tree Protection

Parkway Planting: Planting a tree in the Lehi park strip between curb and sidewalk requires a free Parks Department permit, a strip at least seven feet wide, and centering the tree in the strip to keep it clear of utilities..

Also covered: Heritage & Protected Trees (permissive). See the full tree protection guide for Lehi for details.

Sign Regulations

Digital Billboards: Lehi allows zero new billboards anywhere in the City: Section 23.110.C bans permits for new construction outright. Existing off-premises signs can convert to electronic displays only inside the Off-Premises Electronic Display Sign Overlay Zone, capped at 675 square feet, and only with a conditional-use permit from the Planning Commission..

Also covered: Holiday Displays (permissive), Political Signs (permissive), Garage Sale Signs (limited). See the full sign regulations guide for Lehi for details.

What to Do With This Information

This overview covers the big picture, but the details matter. Each ordinance page for Lehi includes the full text, violation penalties, and frequently asked questions. Use those pages when you need specifics.