Peoria is not designated as a wildfire hazard area, so the City does not enforce a defensible-space brush-clearance program. Vegetation control is handled through the Peoria property maintenance code (Peoria Code Chapter 5, Article VI, adopting the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code) and the City's weed and rank-vegetation ordinance, which caps grass and weeds at a maximum height before triggering code enforcement and city-performed abatement billed back to the owner.
Peoria sits in the central Illinois prairie/floodplain corridor along the Illinois River, which the U.S. Forest Service and Illinois State Fire Marshal do not classify as a wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire hazard zone. As a result, the city has no California-style defensible-space mandate (no 30-foot or 100-foot vegetation clearance perimeter). Vegetation management is enforced under Peoria Code Chapter 5, Article VI (Property Maintenance Code), which adopts the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). IPMC Section 302.4 requires that 'all premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of [a jurisdiction-specified] inches.' Peoria's local amendment sets the threshold at 10 inches for grass and weeds. The City's Code Enforcement Division (309-494-8654) inspects in response to complaints, issues a Notice of Violation, and gives the owner approximately five to seven days to abate; failure to comply results in the City contracting a mowing crew with the cost billed back to the owner as a lien against the property. Naturalized landscapes, native prairie plantings, and registered rain gardens may be exempt under a separate native-landscape ordinance provision if pre-registered with the City. Brush, tree limbs, and dead vegetation are managed as 'litter' under Peoria Code Chapter 18 (Litter Control). The City's Department of Public Works runs separate seasonal yard-waste collection.
Property-maintenance violations under Peoria Code Chapter 5, Article VI and IPMC Section 302.4 are typically cited at $100-$500 per occurrence with each day a separate offense. The City may abate the nuisance directly (mow the lawn, remove brush) and place an assessment lien on the property under Peoria Code Section 18 for the cost of abatement plus an administrative fee. Repeat violations or vacant-property violations can trigger escalated fines and referral to administrative adjudication.
Peoria, IL
Peoria adopts the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) through Chapter 5 (Buildings). IPMC Section 303.2 (Enclosures) requires private swimming poo...
Peoria, IL
Peoria's Appendix B (Zoning Ordinance) regulates fence material and finish standards in residential districts. Barbed wire and electrified fences are restric...
Peoria, IL
Illinois has no statewide 'good neighbor' fence cost-sharing statute, and Peoria does not require neighbor consent before installing a boundary fence. The Il...
Peoria, IL
Peoria requires a Fence Permit from the Building Safety Division (419 Fulton Street, Room 203, 309-494-8600) before installing most residential fences. Appli...
Peoria, IL
Peoria regulates residential fence heights through Appendix B (Zoning Ordinance) of the Code of Ordinances. Typical residential standards limit fences in fro...
Peoria, IL
Peoria's Code of Ordinances Chapter 5 (Animals) does not impose a specific numerical cap on dogs or cats per household, but excessive numbers that result in ...
See how Peoria's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
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