Outdoor burning rules in Johnson County, IA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Iowa's DNR bans open burning of combustible materials by default, allowing landscape waste only on the premises where it grew. Iowa City goes further and prohibits open burning of leaves, yard waste, and trash inside the city, so residents use municipal collection.
Open burning is governed by the Iowa DNR under Iowa Administrative Code 567-23.2, which starts from a flat prohibition and then lists narrow exemptions. Burning garbage, trash, or construction debris is never allowed. The rules permit disposing of landscape waste by open burning only on the premises where it grew, but Iowa City prohibits open burning of leaves, yard waste, and similar material within the city, so residents there should bag it for pickup. In unincorporated rural Johnson County, burning your own landscape waste is generally allowed, subject to distance rules and any drought burn ban. Small clean-wood recreational fires are a separate category.
Burning trash or refuse violates DNR rules and can bring state enforcement and cleanup liability. Open burning banned by a city ordinance draws a local citation and escalating fines.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Johnson County, IA
No county or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty rarely regulate seasonal decorations, a...
Johnson County, IA
No countywide rule governs garage-sale signs; each city sets its own. A temporary sign on your own lawn is generally fine, but one staked in a public right-o...
Johnson County, IA
Cities and the county regulate signs through zoning codes, not a countywide rule. Since Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015), those codes must stay content-neutral...
Johnson County, IA
Rental permits are a city job, not a county one. Iowa City runs a mandatory rental-permit program with a two-year inspection cycle through its Housing Inspec...
Johnson County, IA
Iowa is landlord-friendly and has no just-cause eviction law, so no Johnson County city can add one. But the security deposit is capped at two months' rent u...
Johnson County, IA
Iowa has no rent control, and no government in Johnson County can create one. Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty landlords set and raise rent at market...
See how Johnson County's outdoor burning rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.