8 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
Verified from official government sources
No Massachusetts statute caps lawn grass height, and Plymouth County holds no ordinance power. Any height limit across Carver, Wareham, Middleborough, Duxbury, and the South Shore comes from a town's own property-maintenance or nuisance bylaw.
Trimming trees on your own land needs no permit anywhere in Plymouth County. But public shade trees along a road or town way cannot be cut or trimmed without the tree warden's written permit, under MGL c.87 §3.
MGL c.87 §3
Except as provided by section five, public shade trees shall not be cut, trimmed or removed, in whole or in part, by any person other than the tree warden or his deputy, even if he be the owner of the fee in the land on which such tree is situated, except upon a permit in writing from said tree warden, nor shall they be cut down or removed by the tree warden or his deputy or other person withou...
You may remove trees on your own land in Plymouth County without a county permit. But no public shade tree in or beside a road may be removed without a tree warden's public hearing and written consent, under MGL c.87 §3.
MGL c.87 §3
Except as provided by section five, public shade trees shall not be cut, trimmed or removed, in whole or in part, by any person other than the tree warden or his deputy, even if he be the owner of the fee in the land on which such tree is situated, except upon a permit in writing from said tree warden, nor shall they be cut down or removed by the tree warden or his deputy or other person withou...
No Massachusetts statute defines weeds or forces owners to clear them, and Plymouth County cannot legislate. Weed and overgrowth rules exist only as town nuisance bylaws in places like Middleborough, Wareham, and Marshfield.
Plymouth County runs no water system. Outdoor watering limits come from each town or district's Water Management Act permit under MGL c.21G, which conditions large withdrawals and triggers nonessential-use bans during declared drought.
MGL c.21G §2
"Withdrawal", the removal or taking of water from a water source; provided, however, that all removals or takings of water from a particular water source which are made or controlled by a single person shall be deemed to be a single withdrawal of water.
Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted across Plymouth County. No Massachusetts statute limits collecting rain, and the county holds no ordinance power. Rain barrels and cisterns for landscape irrigation are legal in every town.
No Massachusetts statute or Plymouth County ordinance restricts native or drought-tolerant planting. Residents may replace lawn with native meadow, pollinator beds, or coastal grasses freely, and the state encourages it.
No Plymouth County ordinance governs artificial turf, and towns rarely restrict it on ordinary lots. But installing turf near a marsh, bog, pond, or coastal bank triggers Wetlands Protection Act review under MGL c.131 §40.
MGL c.131 §40
No person shall remove, fill, dredge or alter any bank, riverfront area, fresh water wetland, coastal wetland, beach, dune, flat, marsh, meadow or swamp bordering on the ocean or on any estuary, creek, river, stream, pond, or lake, or any land under said waters or any land subject to tidal action, coastal storm flowage, or flooding... without filing written notice of his intention to so remove,...
1 cities in Plymouth County have their own landscaping rules rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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