Landscaping Rules in Harlingen, TX (2026)
5 verified landscaping rules for Harlingen, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
Harlingen bars trees, shrubs, and vines from private property that hang into public rights-of-way below 8 feet over sidewalks or 15 feet over streets and alleys, under Code of Ordinances § 32-29.
Harlingen Street & Sidewalk Tree Clearance Rule
Some RestrictionsHarlingen, TX Code of Ordinances § 32-29
An owner, occupant, or person in control of any private premises abutting an alley, street, or sidewalk within the city commits an offense if he allows any vegetation, including, but not limited to, trees, shrubbery, bushes, and vines, to grow on the premises so as to project across the property line over or into the right-of-way of the alley, street, or sidewalk.
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Harlingen designates trees 24+ inches in circumference (8-inch caliper) as protected and requires mitigation, build-around credit, transplant, or replacement planting, before removal, plus a city permit on nonresidential sites without a building permit.
Harlingen Protected Tree Removal Permit
Significant RestrictionsHarlingen City Code § 111-245
Any tree measuring 24 inches or more in circumference or with a caliper of eight inches or more will be considered a protected tree and may not be removed unless one of the following mitigation conditions is met... Cut down the tree and plant two trees of at least four inches caliper (or four trees of at least two-inch caliper) for each tree removed either on the subject property or on public p...
Weed Ordinances
Harlingen caps weeds and grass on any premises at 12 inches and requires cut vegetation to be removed, not left in piles.
Harlingen 12-Inch Grass and Weed Limit
Some RestrictionsHarlingen, TX City Code § 32-27
A person commits an offense if he is an owner, occupant, or person in control of occupied and unoccupied premises in the city and: (1) Permits weeds or grass located on the premises to grow to a height greater than 12 inches; or (2) Fails to remove weeds or grass from the premises after they have been cut.
Water Restrictions
Once Harlingen Waterworks System declares Stage 2 of its drought plan, § 48-145(d)(2)(a) limits irrigation to twice a week overnight, with even-numbered addresses on Wednesdays and Saturdays, odd-numbered addresses on Thursdays and Sundays, and non-residential accounts on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Harlingen Drought Watering Days
Some RestrictionsHarlingen Code of Ordinances § 48-145(d)(2)(a)
1. Irrigation of landscaped areas shall be limited to twice per week between the hours of 8:00 p.m. on the designated watering day to 10:00 a.m. the following morning...except that watering...is permitted at any time if by means of a hand-held hose, a faucet filled bucket, or watering can of five gallons or less, or drip irrigation. [a] Residential addresses ending in an even number (0, 2, 4, 6...
Artificial Turf
Harlingen's zoning landscape code flatly bars synthetic lawns or artificial plant material from counting toward required landscaping on commercial, multifamily, and other nonresidential development sites.
Harlingen Bars Synthetic Turf as Landscaping
Significant RestrictionsHarlingen Code of Ordinances § 111-243(3)(i)
Synthetic lawns or plants or other artificial landscape material will not be allowed to substitute for plant requirements of this section.
Looking for Cameron County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Harlingen city rules.
Landscaping Rules in Cameron County →