Iowa lets you open-burn landscape waste (brush, branches, leaves) that originated on your own premises, but Polk County requires a permit for it. Clearing and grubbing burns must sit at least one-fourth mile from any building the burner doesn't occupy.
Under 567 IAC 23.2(3)(d), disposal by open burning of landscape waste originating on the premises is exempt from the general prohibition, but burning waste produced in clearing, grubbing, and construction operations must be at least one-fourth mile from any building inhabited by someone other than the landowner or tenant. Rubber tires can't be used to ignite it. Polk County adds a permit requirement (issued for landscape-waste clearing and grubbing) and bars open-burning landscape waste from industrial, commercial, or two-or-more-unit dwelling sources. Separately, Iowa Code Chapter 317 makes property owners destroy noxious weeds; chopping or spraying, not burning, is the usual method.
Burning brush without a Polk County permit, closer than the one-fourth-mile setback, or from a prohibited source violates the county air-pollution rules and 567 IAC 23.2.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Polk County allows backyard composting but regulates it through the Health Nuisance Regulation: a compost pile that harbors vermin, produces offensive odors,...
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Polk County has no ordinance for or against artificial turf on residential lots. Installation on unincorporated land is generally unrestricted; cities and HO...
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Polk County has no ordinance banning native or prairie landscaping, and the county promotes native roadside vegetation. The one legal limit: your planting ca...
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Iowa has no state ban on collecting rainwater, and Polk County sets no rain-barrel ordinance. Residents may capture roof runoff in barrels or cisterns; only ...
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Polk County sets no lawn-watering schedule. Central Iowa's water is managed by Central Iowa Water Works / Des Moines Water Works, which can impose voluntary ...
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Iowa Code 317.10 requires every landowner to destroy all noxious weeds on their land as directed by the county board of supervisors. Polk County's Weed Commi...
See how Polk County's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
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