9 rules for unincorporated Clackamas County, Oregon.
Verified from official government sources
Clackamas County sets no countywide grass-height limit for private residential yards. Code enforcement focuses on road-visibility hazards, not lawn length. Inside cities like Oregon City, Lake Oswego and Milwaukie, the city's nuisance code governs tall grass and weeds.
Routine trimming of your own trees needs no county permit in unincorporated Clackamas County. Trimming is restricted only inside protected riparian, habitat (ZDO 706) or water-quality (ZDO 709) corridors, or on trees required to be retained during development.
Unincorporated Clackamas County limits tree removal through ZDO 1002.02: removing more than three non-exempt trees on a lot in one calendar year is 'excessive.' Excessive removal within five years before a development application causes that application to be denied.
Clackamas County ZDO 1002.02
Excessive tree removal is the removal of more than three trees—excluding those identified as exempt in Subsection 1002.02(E)—on a lot of record in a calendar year.
Oregon law (ORS 569) declares noxious weeds a public nuisance to be controlled on all lands. Clackamas County runs the WeedWise program (since 2009) through its Soil & Water Conservation District. There is no general 'tall weeds' fine for ordinary yards.
Clackamas County government sets no countywide outdoor-watering ban. Watering rules come from your local water provider (such as Clackamas River Water or Sunrise Water Authority) and any city, plus statewide water-rights law administered by Oregon Water Resources Department.
Rooftop rainwater harvesting is legal in Oregon and does not need a water right. Clackamas County adds no ban. Collecting rain from an artificial impervious surface (a roof) for non-potable use is allowed; indoor plumbing hookups require a plumbing permit.
Clackamas County does not mandate native-plant landscaping for private yards, but strongly encourages it and requires native-vegetation retention in protected riparian and habitat corridors. Local partners like WeedWise and the Clackamas River Basin Council promote native plantings.
Clackamas County has no ordinance banning or specifically regulating artificial turf in residential yards. Standard land-use rules on lot coverage, drainage, and impervious surface still apply, and installations in protected riparian or habitat corridors are restricted.
Backyard composting of yard debris and food scraps is allowed and encouraged in Clackamas County; no permit is needed for a home compost pile. Commercial-scale composting is regulated by Oregon DEQ. Keep piles managed so they don't create odor or vermin nuisances.
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