Iowa City, IA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

Iowa City does not sit in a wildfire-urban-interface zone and imposes no defensible-space clearance distance comparable to California or Arizona programs. The principal local vegetation-clearance rule is the Nuisance Ordinance, summarized at https://www.icgov.org/ordinances, which regulates situations defined as public nuisances including accumulation of junk and garbage, tall grass or weeds, unshoveled sidewalks, inoperable vehicles, graffiti, dead trees, and vacant buildings. The tall-grass standard is 10 inches: if the Department of Neighborhood and Development Services receives a complaint, an inspector verifies whether grass or weeds are 10 inches or more tall. If a violation is documented, written notice is sent to the property owner requiring abatement; if the owner fails to mow, the City contracts the work and bills the owner, with unpaid charges becoming a property lien. The property owner is also responsible for mowing the City right-of-way (parkway strip) adjacent to their property. State law at Iowa Code Chapter 317 (https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ico/chapter/317.pdf) backstops the local rule by requiring control of designated noxious weeds throughout Iowa, enforced by the Johnson County Weed Commissioner. Iowa City Fire Department can independently cite under Title 17 (Iowa Fire Code adoption) when brush blocks fire-apparatus access roads, hydrants, or exit pathways. Complaints: 319-356-5120 (Neighborhood Services).