Bowling Green, KY Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

Bowling Green's brush and grass-height standard sits in the adopted International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). Ordinance BG2022-41 (adopted September 6, 2022) amended IPMC Section 302.4 to set a maximum height of ten (10) inches for weeds or plant growth on properties in the City, except for parcels in agricultural use. The presence of any weeds or plant growth, including grass, but excluding maintained crops, trees, bushes, flowers, or other ornamental plants, in excess of 10 inches is declared a nuisance. The duty runs to the property owner and extends to easements and rights-of-way, including from the property line to the curb or street. For undeveloped property (acreage or platted lots larger than 2 acres without structures), the owner must mow and maintain vegetation below 10 inches within 50 feet of any surface improvement, roadway, structure, or property line. The exterior of property must also be kept free from landscaping debris (ashes, stones, glass, concrete, unused piles or bags of rock/mulch/soil, fallen trees, tree branches, limbs, brush, and yard trimmings). Enforcement is by the Bowling Green Code Compliance & Animal Protection (Neighborhood & Community Services) division; Code Compliance reports that overgrown lawns are the most commonly cited violation. Although Bowling Green sits in karst country (Warren County is roughly 90% karst with 350+ cave entrances) and is not within a federally mapped Wildland-Urban Interface, dry tall grass remains a brush-fire and rodent/snake nuisance risk handled through the IPMC.