Landscaping Rules in Portsmouth, VA (2026)
4 verified landscaping rules for Portsmouth, Virginia, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
Portsmouth property owners and occupants must keep bushes, shrubs, trees, and other plants trimmed so nothing overhangs and blocks a public right-of-way. City Code Sec. 36-2 puts the trimming duty on whoever owns or occupies the lot, and if the city has to send a crew to cut back the growth, the owner is billed for the cost, on top of any misdemeanor penalty.
Portsmouth Right-of-Way Tree Trimming Duty
Some RestrictionsPortsmouth, VA Code of Ordinances Sec. 36-2
It shall be the duty of any person who owns or occupies any property on which are situated any bushes, shrubs, trees or other plants that overhang any public right-of-way to keep such bushes, shrubs, trees and other plants trimmed so that such overhanging projections shall in no way impede or interfere with the free public passage along such right-of-way. Any person violating any provision of t...
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Removing, pruning, cutting, or damaging any tree or shrub on city-owned property in Portsmouth requires a written permit from the director of parks, recreation and leisure services. City Code Sec. 36-28 bans cutting, girdling, defacing, or root-injuring a city tree without that permit, and violators face the class 3 misdemeanor penalty set in Sec. 36-1.
Portsmouth City Tree Removal Permit
Significant RestrictionsPortsmouth, VA Code of Ordinances Sec. 36-28
No person shall, without a permit from the director, prune, spray, remove, destroy, cut, girdle or deface any tree or shrub located on city property or injure the same by root cutting or exposure or by placing any chemical or substance on the ground around such tree or shrub, and no person shall, without such a permit, injure, misuse or remove any device placed to protect such tree or shrub.
Weed Ordinances
Portsmouth caps grass and weeds at 10 inches within 300 feet of any building or road. City Code § 23-26(a) declares taller growth an unlawful nuisance, and § 23-26(b) presumes weeds at 10 inches or more are a threat to public health.
Portsmouth Weed and Grass Height Limit
Some RestrictionsPortsmouth, VA Code of Ordinances § 23-26(a)-(b)
(a)It shall be unlawful and shall constitute a nuisance for the owner or occupant of any land or lot in the city to permit any grass or weeds to grow upon such land or lot to a height exceeding ten inches within 300 feet of any building or road or to permit any debris to remain at any place upon such land or lot.(b)Weeds which have attained a height of ten inches or more shall be presumed to be...
Water Restrictions
Portsmouth's code gives the city broad, standing authority to restrict water use during emergencies. There is no published watering-day schedule; instead, Sec. 38-58 lets the department of public utilities impose whatever reasonable limits an emergency requires, from irrigation curbs to broader cutbacks, once it invokes this power.
Portsmouth Emergency Water Use Limits
Significant RestrictionsPortsmouth City Code § 38-58
Sec. 38-58. - Right to restrict use of water in emergencies. In cases of emergency, the city shall have the right to restrict the use of water in any reasonable manner for the protection of the city and its water supply. (Code 1973, 38-49; Code 1988, § 38-58)