Moving to Lewisville, TX? Here Are the Local Rules You Should Know

Lewisville is a mid-sized city in Denton County, Texas, with about 112000 residents. Like most cities its size, it has a set of local rules that may differ significantly from neighboring municipalities. Here is an overview of 90 ordinances across 31 categories that affect daily life in Lewisville.

Fence Regulations

Fence Permit Requirements: Anyone hired to build, alter, or remove a fence in Lewisville must be a city-registered contractor under City Code § 4-551, and the city will not issue a permit to an unregistered contractor. Property owners doing fence work on their own homesteaded residence, as shown on the Denton County Appraisal District rolls, are exempt from the registration requirement..

Also covered: Neighbor Fence Rules (permissive), Height Limits (limited). See the full fence regulations guide for Lewisville for details.

Animal Ordinances

Mandatory Spay/Neuter: City animal services won't release a dog, cat, or ferret for adoption unless it's already sterilized or the new owner signs a sterilization agreement. Owners who sign the agreement must get the animal fixed by an age-based completion date, typically 30 days after adoption, and confirm it in writing to the shelter afterward..

Also covered: Chickens & Livestock (limited), Dog Leash Laws (limited), Exotic Pets (moderate). See the full animal ordinances guide for Lewisville for details.

Drone Rules

Recreational Drones: Recreational drone use in Lewisville is governed primarily by FAA regulations and Texas Government Code Chapter 423 (privacy protections). Lewisville falls within the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Class B airspace, requiring all recreational drone operators to obtain LAANC authorization through an FAA-approved app before every flight.

Sign Regulations

Garage Sale Signs: Lewisville allows one on-site garage sale sign of up to two square feet without a sign permit, but bans off-site directional signs entirely. Holding the sale itself still requires a separate garage sale permit under City Code § 7-202..

Also covered: Holiday Displays (permissive), Window Signs (permissive). See the full sign regulations guide for Lewisville for details.

Landscaping Rules

Water Restrictions: Lewisville runs mandatory, year-round Stage 1 watering-day limits: even-numbered addresses irrigate Tuesdays and Saturdays, odd-numbered addresses Wednesdays and Sundays, commercial and multi-family customers Mondays and Thursdays, all only between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.

Also covered: Tree Trimming (moderate), Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (restrictive), Weed Ordinances (limited). See the full landscaping rules guide for Lewisville for details.

Public Conduct

Public Urination: Lewisville makes it a criminal offense to urinate or defecate on public property, in a public place, or in public view anywhere in city limits. Article IV of Chapter 8, adopted in 2021, defines public place broadly and offers only one defense: using an actual restroom..

Also covered: Loitering Rules (moderate), Jaywalking (moderate), Public Alcohol Use (moderate). See the full public conduct guide for Lewisville for details.

Environmental Rules

Stormwater Management: Lewisville bans dumping anything but stormwater into its storm drain system (the MS4) and requires construction sites to file a stormwater pollution prevention plan before breaking ground. Violations are Class C misdemeanors carrying fines up to $2,000 per day under City Code Article VIII..

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

Fire Regulations

Outdoor Burning: Lewisville bans open burning citywide under its Fire Code amendments. Bonfires and recreational fires are separately prohibited, and any permitted burn must clear TCEQ rules and any active county burn ban before the fire marshal will authorize it..

Also covered: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (strict), Smoke Detectors (limited), Fireworks (limited). See the full fire regulations guide for Lewisville for details.

Parking Rules

RV & Boat Parking: Lewisville bans parking or storing RVs, boats and other special vehicles on public streets, easements or rights-of-way in single-family and two-family zoned districts. On private property they must sit behind the front yard on an all-weather pad with a ten-foot setback if over 22 feet long..

Also covered: Street Parking Limits (moderate), Driveway Rules (moderate), Overnight Parking (limited). See the full parking rules guide for Lewisville for details.

Outdoor Cooking

BBQ & Propane Rules: Lewisville's Fire Code bars charcoal grills, propane grills, and other open-flame cooking devices from combustible balconies and decks. One- and two-family homes get an exception, but LP-gas containers are capped at 20-pound nominal size and 100 pounds aggregate..

Curfew Laws

Park Curfew: Lewisville parks close at 11:00 p.m. and reopen at 6:00 a.m., with the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area and the Lake Park day use area on tighter seasonal schedules.

Building Safety

Building Permits: Lewisville's Housing Standards article bars anyone from erecting, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, converting, or demolishing a regulated building or structure until a separate permit is obtained from the director of building inspections, with fees set by the adopted building code and inspections required for all covered work..

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

Trash & Recycling

Illegal Dumping: Lewisville makes it unlawful to sweep, deposit or scatter trash on any street, sidewalk or public park, and separately bans dumping litter on private lots, under Sec. 9-81 and 9-82.

Also covered: Dumpster Rules (restrictive), Recycling Requirements (moderate), Collection Schedule (moderate). See the full trash & recycling guide for Lewisville for details.

Business Licensing & Operations

Adult Entertainment: Lewisville requires a sexually-oriented business license from the police chief before operating an adult arcade, bookstore, cabaret, motel, theater, escort agency, nude model studio, or sexual encounter center, and every licensed business must close daily between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., under Code of Ordinances Sec.

Water Use Rules

Leak Reporting Duty: City employees, including police officers, must report any water leaks or unnecessary waste they observe to the director of public services on forms furnished for that purpose. Property owners whose service lines between the meter and the building rust out, break, or deteriorate must repair them to city specifications, in the interest of water conservation..

Also covered: Recycled Water Rules (moderate). See the full water use rules guide for Lewisville for details.

Soliciting & Door-to-Door

No-Knock Registry: Lewisville bans door-to-door solicitors and peddlers, licensed or not, from entering any residential property posted with a 'No Peddlers' or 'No Solicitors' sign, and bars all knocking or solicitation citywide between sunset and 8:00 a.m. under the itinerant merchants article of the city Code..

Also covered: Solicitor Permits (limited). See the full soliciting & door-to-door guide for Lewisville for details.

Noise Ordinances

Vehicle Noise: Lewisville bans bells, sirens, compression horns and exhaust whistles on private vehicles, reserving them for law enforcement, fire and ambulance duty, and separately bars mounting a loudspeaker or sound-amplifying equipment on any vehicle so it is audible 50 feet away on a street, alley, sidewalk or park. Sec.

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

Special Events & Permits

Street Fair Rules: Lewisville treats fairs (three or more vendors) and festivals as regulated special events once they draw 100 or more attendees a day, requiring a city permit, temporary food permits for vendors, one toilet per 200 attendees, and minimum liability insurance before the gates open..

Also covered: Parade Permits (moderate), Park Event Permits (moderate), Block Party Permits (moderate). See the full special events & permits guide for Lewisville for details.

Garage & Yard Sales

Frequency, Duration & Permits: Lewisville limits any homeowner to two occasional sales, garage, yard, or estate sales alike, per 12-month period, each capped at three consecutive days, under a City Hall permit and a single two-square-foot yard sign, with no newly bought resale merchandise allowed on the table..

Rental Property Rules

Rental Registration: Every multi-family rental complex in Lewisville must carry a current city license under City Code § 4-206, renewed annually by the owner or property manager. The Neighborhood and Inspection Services Department issues the license only after confirming backflow-device testing and fire-protection-system compliance, and a complex still less than three years past its first final building inspection is exempt from the license fee..

Also covered: Repairs & Habitability (moderate). See the full rental property rules guide for Lewisville for details.

Rental Inspections

Inspection Programs: Lewisville inspects every licensed multi-family complex at least once a year under City Code § 4-207, checking compliance with the city's property maintenance code. The code official gives advance notice and an inspection checklist before entering, documents a pass with a written report, and can order the owner or property manager to correct any violations found on a set deadline..

Swimming Pools & Spas

Pool Permits: Building a residential pool in Lewisville requires a construction permit under City Code § 4-473, with fees set by the city's § 2-201 fee schedule, under the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code adopted at § 4-483. Starting pool construction before the permit issues triggers an added investigation fee equal to the permit fee under amended ISPSC § 108.4..

Also covered: Fencing & Safety Requirements (limited). See the full swimming pools & spas guide for Lewisville for details.

Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules

Encroachment Permits: Before placing any facility or structure in, on, over or under a Lewisville public right-of-way, Section 13-31 requires a permit, and Section 13-29 requires a separate municipal authorization first; no amount of use or fee payment ever creates an ownership right in the right-of-way..

Hotels & Lodging

Transient Occupancy Tax: Lewisville levies a 7 percent hotel occupancy tax on rooms costing $2.00 or more per day under City Code Section 14-62, and the ordinance's 'hotel' definition expressly includes short-term rentals, so STR hosts owe the same local tax collected by hotels and motels..

Short-Term Rentals

Taxes & Fees: Lewisville STR operators must collect 7 percent city hotel occupancy tax plus the 6 percent state tax for a combined 13 percent rate on nightly rental prices..

Also covered: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (limited), Short-Term Rental Permits (limited), Night Caps (permissive). See the full short-term rentals guide for Lewisville for details.

Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors

Sidewalk & Mobile Vending: Lewisville makes it unlawful for mobile food establishments and general service carts to sell food on any street, median, sidewalk, or residential property in the city, under Sec. 7-241(d)(1) and Sec.

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

Property Maintenance

Property Blight: Lewisville can declare a building a 'substandard structure' under City Code §§ 4-243 and 4-246 when damage, deterioration, or code violations make it dilapidated or unfit for habitation, automatically treating it as a public nuisance and a danger to health and welfare. The City Council can then order the structure repaired, vacated, removed, or demolished..

Also covered: Vacant Lot Maintenance (limited). See the full property maintenance guide for Lewisville for details.

Cannabis Regulations

Dispensary Zoning: Texas does not permit recreational cannabis dispensaries. Lewisville has no local cannabis retail zoning.

Public Health Rules

Food Handler Certification: Every Lewisville employee who handles food, utensils, or food-service equipment must hold a valid food handler's permit within 45 days of starting work, earned by watching a city-approved training video and scoring 70 or higher on the regulatory authority's knowledge test, under Sec. 7-247 through 7-249 of the Code of Ordinances; certified food protection managers are exempt..

Also covered: Rodent Control (moderate). See the full public health rules guide for Lewisville for details.

Outdoor Lighting

Light Trespass & Shielding: Lewisville's Sec. 9-3 bars any light source that throws intense glare or direct illumination across a property line.

Mobility & Curb Rules

Bike Lane Rules: Lewisville forbids parking any vehicle so that part of it extends into a bike lane, over a sidewalk, across a parking-space line, or over a driveway. Sec.

What to Do With This Information

Whether you are renting, buying, or renovating in Lewisville, knowing the local rules upfront saves headaches later. Dig into the individual ordinance pages linked above for the complete picture, including fines and exemptions.