Landscaping Rules in Fort Collins, CO (2026)
8 verified landscaping rules for Fort Collins, Colorado, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
Fort Collins property owners must keep trees, shrubs and other woody vegetation on their land trimmed so branches clear 8 feet over a public sidewalk and 14 feet over a street or alley travel lane, per Code § 27-57. The City Forester can order noncompliant owners to cut, and unpaid work becomes a property lien.
Fort Collins Street-Clearance Tree Pruning Duty
Some RestrictionsFort Collins City Code § 27-57(a)
It shall be the duty of the owner of any property within the City to cut, trim, prune or remove as necessary any trees, shrubs, or other woody vegetation located upon the property of such owner and up to the center line of any alley adjacent to the property in order to provide for the safe and convenient use of streets, sidewalks, alleys or other City-owned property in accordance with the follo...
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Removing, cutting or pruning a tree in a Fort Collins street right-of-way, sidewalk area or other City-owned property requires a free written permit from the City Forester under Code § 27-31. Removing a tree of 15 inches or greater diameter on commercial property also triggers the permit under § 27-32.
Fort Collins Public-Tree Removal Permit
Significant RestrictionsFort Collins City Code § 27-31
It shall be unlawful for any person to plant, treat, cut, trim, prune, remove or cause to be planted, treated, cut, trimmed, pruned, or removed any tree within the public right-of-way of any street or sidewalk, or upon other City-owned property within the City without having first obtained a written permit therefor. For purposes of this Section and § 27-32, "within the public right-of-way of an...
Weed Ordinances
Fort Collins caps weeds and lawn grass at nine inches on any developed property under Municipal Code § 20-42, and the excess growth is declared a public nuisance. Ornamental grasses are exempt if they stay under 20% of the landscaped area, and noxious weeds designated under the Colorado Weed Law are barred at any height.
Fort Collins Weed and Grass Height Limit
Some RestrictionsFort Collins Municipal Code § 20-42(a), (c), (d)
(a)All weeds or unmowed grasses required to be mowed under Subsection (c) of this Section, refuse and rubbish on a property within the City are hereby declared to be a nuisance and a menace to the health and safety of the inhabitants of the City. ... (c)It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any property to permit weeds to grow upon such property to a height of more than nine (9) inc...
Water Restrictions
Fort Collins bans wasting treated water on landscaping under City Code Sec. 26-166: irrigation that pools onto streets, sidewalks or storm drains is unlawful, as is a hose without a shutoff nozzle. Utilities can also order emergency cutbacks under the Water Shortage Action Plan.
Fort Collins Water Waste and Irrigation Rules
Some RestrictionsFort Collins Municipal Code Sec. 26-166 (Waste of water prohibited)
It is unlawful to waste water obtained from the City in any manner. No person shall cause the waste of water, or knowingly fail to prevent the waste of water on property owned by or within the control of such person.(b)Waste of water shall mean any of the following:(1)the application of water to any of the following in a manner that results in pooling of water or a steady flow of water into sto...
Rainwater Harvesting
Fort Collins' 2024 International Plumbing Code amendments at City Code § 5-126 delete IPC Section 1303, Nonpotable Rainwater Collection and Distribution Systems, 'in its entirety.' Unlike the neighboring graywater reuse rules in Section 1302, which the City kept and expanded, rainwater harvesting systems carry no local plumbing-code design, tank or distribution standard.
Fort Collins Strikes Rainwater System Plumbing Rule
Few RestrictionsFort Collins City Code § 5-126 (item 73, deleting 2024 IPC Section 1303)
73.SECTION 1303 NONPOTABLE RAINWATER COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS is deleted in its entirety.
Native Plants
Colorado law bars homeowner associations from blocking water-wise yards. Under C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(i.5), enacted by Senate Bill 23-178 (2023) and covering single-family detached homes in Fort Collins HOA communities, an association's design rules must allow at least 80% drought-tolerant plantings, cap mandatory hardscape at 20% of the yard, and cannot forbid backyard turf-free landscaping or vegetable gardens.
Fort Collins HOA Water-Wise Landscaping Rights
Significant RestrictionsColorado Senate Bill 23-178 § 1 (2023), codified at C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(i.5)
(i.5)(I) The use of xeriscape, nonvegetative turf grass, or drought-tolerant or nonvegetative landscapes to provide ground covering to property for which a unit owner is responsible... Associations may adopt and enforce design or aesthetic guidelines or rules that apply to drought-tolerant vegetative or nonvegetative landscapes or to vegetable gardens...; except that the guidelines or rules mus...
Artificial Turf
Fort Collins doesn't ban artificial turf, but it also doesn't shield it from an HOA's rules the way it protects real xeriscaping. Municipal Code § 12-120 defines "Xeriscape landscaping" to exclude artificial turf outright, so the § 12-122 ban on covenants that block xeriscape never reaches synthetic grass, leaving that call to each subdivision's own covenants.
Fort Collins Artificial Turf and HOA Covenants
Light RestrictionsFort Collins Municipal Code §§ 12-120, 12-122
Xeriscape landscaping shall not include artificial turf or plants; mulched (including gravel) beds or areas without landscape plant material; paving of areas not required for walkways, patios, or plazas or parking areas; bare ground; or weed-covered or weed-infested surfaces. ... No person shall create, cause to be created, enforce or seek to enforce any provision contained in any restrictive c...
Composting
Fort Collins protects a homeowner's right to keep an odor-controlled compost bin no matter what an HOA's covenants say. Municipal Code § 12-122 makes unenforceable any restrictive covenant provision that has the effect of prohibiting or limiting the installation or use of an odor-controlled compost bin, alongside the same protection for xeriscaping, roof-mounted solar and backyard clothes lines.
Fort Collins Backyard Compost Bin Protections
Light RestrictionsFort Collins Municipal Code § 12-122
No person shall create, cause to be created, enforce or seek to enforce any provision contained in any restrictive covenant which has the effect of prohibiting or limiting the installation or use of Xeriscape landscaping, solar/ photovoltaic collectors (if mounted flush upon any established roof line), clothes lines (if located in back yards), or odor-controlled compost bins, or which has the e...
Looking for Larimer County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Fort Collins city rules.
Landscaping Rules in Larimer County →