Local Rules Near DFW Airport

Irving bans landscaping, lawn care and construction noise in residential areas between 9:00 p.m. and 6:59 a.m. The rule sits inside the city's noise chapter, enforced by police and code officers with fines up to $500 per day for violations.

Irving Code § 22-3 bars vehicle and sound-equipment noise: a car radio or amplified sound plainly audible 50 feet away in a commercial, industrial, or public space, and any motor-vehicle exhaust not routed through an effective muffler.

Irving Ch. 22 restricts amplified sound that disturbs the peace. Loudspeakers and amplifiers are prohibited when they create unreasonable disturbance. Quiet hours apply 10 PM to 7 AM.

Irving Ch. 22 prohibits unreasonable noise from commercial and industrial operations that disturbs the peace of neighbors. Loading/unloading near residential areas restricted after 9 PM.

Irving Ch 22 prohibits unreasonable noise citywide. Yelling, shouting, and singing in residential areas prohibited 10 PM to 7 AM. Construction restricted to 6 AM-9 PM weekdays and 7 AM-8 PM weekends near residential districts.

Irving bars construction, demolition or repair noise near homes outside 6 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m.-8 p.m. weekends. The building official can permit limited after-hours work; violations run through the city's noise chapter enforced by police and code officers.

Irving Ch. 22 makes unreasonably loud animal noise a per se violation. The owner, controller, or caretaker is responsible. Licensed animal facilities are exempt.

Irving STR occupancy limits are partly based on available off-street parking spaces. Guests must not block driveways, sidewalks, or create parking nuisances for neighbors.

Irving escalates short-term rental penalties with each repeat offense of the same code provision within a rolling 12-month window: a notice for the first violation, a misdemeanor citation for the second, and a misdemeanor plus possible revocation of the STR certificate for every violation after that, under Sec. 8-90(b).

Irving STR hosts must collect and remit a 7% local hotel occupancy tax monthly, in addition to the state 6% hotel tax. Registration fees apply annually.

Irving STR occupancy limits are based on the number of bedrooms and off-street parking spaces. Building and housing standards regarding egress and safety must be met.

Irving law makes it unlawful to operate a short-term rental without host protection or liability insurance covering up to $1 million per occurrence. Owners must keep a certificate of insurance on file with the Code Enforcement Department, prove coverage when applying for a certificate of registration, and report any cancellation within 30 days.

Irving requires every short-term rental owner to hold a valid certificate of registration issued by the Code Enforcement Department before renting to guests. The application must disclose the owner's identity, hosting-platform links, and the property's hotel occupancy tax account. The Director can deny a certificate outright if more than 10% of single-family homes on the same block face already carry active STR registrations.

Irving STRs must comply with general noise ordinance. Many cities impose stricter quiet hours for rentals. Complaints can trigger permit review.

Texas law lets Irving prohibit or regulate fireworks, but Irving repealed its own dedicated fireworks ordinance in 2005. Today the city requires a fire marshal permit and $3 million in insurance for fireworks at special events, and bans them outright at neighborhood block parties.

Irving regulates outdoor fires in parks and residential areas. Open fires on park property are only allowed in designated areas. Burning materials producing toxic fumes is prohibited.

Texas Property Code § 92.255 requires smoke detectors in each bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on every level of a dwelling. Irving's alarm system chapter (Ch. 9) requires annual registration.

Irving's nuisance ordinance makes it a violation to burn hair, leather, rags, or any other substance that produces an offensive smell, smoke, or odor capable of annoying nearby residents, whether the burning happens inside city limits or within 5,000 feet of them. Section 23-1(i) treats this kind of open burning as a public nuisance.

Irving's traffic engineer designates and signs passenger and freight curb loading zones citywide, posting the hours each zone is active. Passenger loading is capped at 3 minutes; freight loading and unloading of materials is capped at 30 minutes during posted hours.

Irving Code § 24-8.2 makes it unlawful for anyone to paint or apply markings to a public street, curb, or sidewalk, closing off DIY curb-number jobs, reserved-parking stripes, and street art alike. The ban covers any public right-of-way citywide. Only city maintenance contractors and owners or permitted occupants painting their own address number are exempt.

Irving's Unified Development Code bars parking recreational vehicles, motor homes, and towed trailers anywhere in the required front setback in its R-ZLa zero lot line district, and the same rule that off-street parking 'shall not be located on a required front yard' repeats in the R-3.5, R-XF and other residential zoning districts citywide. The R-ZLa front setback runs 15 feet from the property line.

Irving permits storing an RV, boat, motor home or travel trailer in a residential yard only on an approved surface under UDC Section 3.18.2(a). The pad must be concrete or asphalt, or bordered gravel behind the front wall of the house, or a screened area behind the primary structure, linked to the street by a path at least nine feet wide.

Irving restricts overnight parking of oversized vehicles and trailers in residential areas. Standard passenger vehicles may park overnight on streets where not otherwise restricted by signage.

A junked vehicle, one missing a valid license plate or inspection sticker and either wrecked, dismantled or inoperable for more than 72 hours in public or 30 days on private property, that is visible from a street or public right-of-way is declared a public nuisance under Section 19-18. The city's code enforcement director can order it removed after notice and a chance to contest it.

Irving requires vehicles to park parallel to the curb with right-hand wheels within 18 inches. Oversized and commercial vehicles on residential streets are enforced by Irving PD.

Irving repealed its local commercial vehicle residential parking restriction (former §21-115) in 2016. TX Transportation Code §545.307 still restricts overnight commercial vehicle parking on residential streets 10 PM-6 AM where posted.

Irving requires a separate building permit before a retaining wall goes in. Land Development Code Section 8B-27(e) lists retaining walls among the structures that need their own permit even when built alongside a combination building permit for a larger project.

Irving requires a fence permit before anyone builds, repairs, or replaces a fence or any part of one, under Section 15-3(a) of Chapter 15. The permit fee is waived for small residential repairs, replacements, or new sections of fence that comply with the chapter and run fifty linear feet or less.

Irving bans barbed, concertina, and razor wire on fences citywide under Section 15-7(a), with a narrow affirmative-defense exception for non-residential districts where the wire sits more than six feet above grade, is capped at two feet of additional height, and angles inward on an arm rather than over a neighboring property.

Irving caps front-yard fences at 48 inches with at least 50% see-through visibility, while rear and side yards allow up to 8 feet in residential zones and 10 feet in non-residential zones. Corner lots must keep fences in the sight visibility triangle to 30 inches with 50% visibility. Every fence needs a city permit under Chapter 15.

Texas is a fence-out state with no mandatory cost-sharing. Irving requires fences on shared boundaries to comply with height, material, and setback standards. Disputes are civil matters.

Irving regulates livestock by zoning district. Most residential districts prohibit large livestock. Properties in qualifying zoning districts must comply with animal density and lot size requirements.

Irving treats a cat running loose the same as any other animal at large: the owner is on the hook under Sec. 6-80(a) for failing to prevent it or to secure it, unless the cat is part of a recognized colony. Sec. 6-80(g)(1) carves out a specific defense for feral and community cats that have been sterilized, rabies-vaccinated, and ear-notched, letting supervised colonies avoid citation.

Irving doesn't require every pet to be spayed or neutered, but two triggers make it mandatory. Sec. 6-34 forces sterilization within 30 days on any dog or cat that bites a person, animal, or livestock while at large, and Sec. 6-22(a)(3) adds a second trigger: any dog, cat, or rabbit impounded more than once in a 12-month span must be sterilized before release.

Irving requires every dog and cat over four months old to carry a microchip registered with a microchip company, not just a collar tag. Sec. 6-15 of the Code of Civil and Criminal Ordinances makes it an offense to keep an unchipped pet, misuse another animal's chip number, or let a dog or cat go outdoors without an ID tag bearing the owner's name and current phone number.

Irving caps a single residence at eight companion animals four months or older, counting dogs and cats together. A household may also keep no more than two litters of offspring at the same time. Irving Animal Services enforces the limit under Chapter 6.

Irving Ch. 6 regulates the keeping of wild and exotic animals. Texas Parks and Wildlife regulates possession of dangerous wild animals under Health & Safety Code Ch. 822, Subchapter E.

Irving's Unified Development Code treats veterinary clinics and animal hospitals as their own zoning use, not as ordinary professional offices. Section 2.5.4(a)(7) expressly excludes 'animal grooming salons, dog kennels, funeral homes, veterinarian and veterinary hospitals' from the Professional Office district's use list, and the Non-Residential Land Use Table permits enclosed veterinary clinics by right only in Neighborhood and Community Commercial zoning, with outside runs or boarding requiring a Conditional Use Permit.

Texas Property Code § 202.007 prohibits HOAs from banning beekeeping that complies with TX Apiary Inspection Act. Irving allows beekeeping subject to nuisance provisions in Ch. 6.

Irving dog owners must keep animals from running at large under Sec. 6-80(a): confined or restrained on a leash strong enough to prevent unwanted contact, per the Sec. 6-1 definition. Once animal services declares a dog dangerous, Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 822.042 gives the owner 30 days to register it, leash or enclose it, and carry $100,000 in liability coverage; Irving's ordinance raises that floor to a 6-foot leash and $250,000 in insurance.

Irving requires anyone whose tree grows over a public right-of-way to keep at least fourteen feet of clearance above the street pavement or curb under UDC § 4.5.6(b)(1), remove dead or dangerous limbs, and never top a tree by cutting limbs back to stubs over three inches under § 4.5.5(d).

Irving requires a tree removal permit before anyone cuts, removes, or damages a protected tree under UDC § 4.5.8(c), but exempts occupied residential property and commercial lots of two acres or less entirely; removal on covered land triggers replacement or a $195-per-inch mitigation fee.

Irving bans weeds and grass over ten inches on any premises, including the parkway and abutting right-of-way. Code Enforcement issues notice; after seven days the city mows the lot and bills the owner, filing a lien for costs plus a $250 administrative fee.

Irving encourages native and drought-tolerant landscaping for water conservation but does not mandate native plant usage. HOAs cannot prohibit xeriscaping under Texas law.

Irving's own development code lets homeowners cover front and side yards facing a street with artificial turf as part of a Xeriscape plan, and Texas Property Code § 202.007(a)(4) separately voids any homeowners' association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, overriding restrictive covenants across Irving subdivisions.

Irving limits lawn and landscape irrigation to two days a week, even addresses Tuesday and Saturday, odd addresses Wednesday and Sunday, and bans all watering from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. between April 1 and October 31.

Texas Cottage Food Law allows home-based food sales up to $75,000/year without a city food establishment permit. Products limited to non-potentially hazardous foods sold directly to consumers.

Texas HHSC licenses home daycares. Registered homes may care for 1-6 children; listed homes 1-3 children from one household. Irving zoning must permit the use in the district.

Irving's Unified Development Code defines a customary home occupation as work carried on inside a residence without structural changes, extra machinery, or non-resident employees. The definition, in the code's citywide definitions chapter, sets the baseline every zoning district uses when it lists home occupations as a permitted accessory use in single-family neighborhoods.

Irving requires building permits for swimming pool construction. Pools cannot be built on easements. Permits applied through MGO online portal. Residential permits take about 3 business days.

Irving requires pool fencing per building code and Ch. 36 (Public Swimming Pools and Spas). TX Health & Safety Code Ch. 757 mandates minimum 48-inch barriers with self-closing, self-latching gates.

Irving will not issue a permit to convert an attached garage into living space unless the project meets every condition in UDC § 4.4.10: matching exterior materials, no wood siding on the new wall, a 16-to-25-foot paved driveway, house-only entry, and no separate dwelling unit. The rule covers conversions permitted after October 22, 2009.

A backyard shed in Irving falls under UDC § 3.1.4, which caps a detached accessory building on a lot under half an acre at 10% of the lot area or 2,500 square feet, whichever is smaller, and sets a 5-foot minimum setback and a 10-foot height limit.

Irving's Unified Development Code defines a 'servants quarters,' the only accessory dwelling unit its zoning code recognizes, as living quarters restricted to people employed on the property. Section 9.3 flatly bars renting it out or using it as a separate home for anyone else, and requires it to share utility meters with the main house rather than carry its own.

Irving will not let a homeowner add a guest apartment or accessory dwelling by right. Under Unified Development Code § 2.4.7(b)(2), guest and servant's quarters are a lawful accessory use in a single-family district only after the property is rezoned into an S-P-1 detailed site plan district by City Council under § 2.7.3, following Planning and Zoning Commission review and a public hearing.

Irving requires barbecue grills and similar outdoor equipment kept at a residence to remain in the rear yard under UDC Section 3.18.2(d)(2). The same accessory-items rule that covers spas, hot tubs, satellite dishes and patio covers pulls grills out of front and side yards and confines them to the back of a single-family lot.

Irving allows lawn ornaments, yard swings, water features and outdoor art at a residence under UDC Section 3.18.2(d)(1), provided the piece is designed for outdoor use and kept in good, undeteriorated condition. A rusted or indoor-grade display no longer counts as an allowed accessory item.

New residential construction in Irving's special flood hazard areas must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least two feet above the base flood elevation. A registered professional engineer must certify compliance, and once the floor is elevated, the slab cannot sit lower than the top of the street curb on which the structure fronts.

Irving caps engine idling for trucks over 10,000 pounds at 15 minutes when parked within 300 feet of a home, unless the engine sits in an enclosed structure. The city's noise chapter enforces it with fines up to $500 per day.

Irving requires new development and redevelopment to control post-construction stormwater runoff under Chapter 51, sizing drainage improvements to the 25-year storm for areas under 100 acres, the 50-year storm up to 640 acres, and the 100-year storm above that. Property owners install and maintain the required drainage systems under City Engineer-approved plans.

Irving requires an earthwork permit before grading, filling, or excavating, and Section 41-62.6 bars placing fill without controlling erosion on cut and fill slopes with planting, check dams, cribbing, or riprap. The permit costs $35 and sites over five acres need an EPA stormwater permit and engineer-prepared plan.

Irving requires a development permit before any construction, grading, or land change occurs in an area of special flood hazard, on top of any building permit. Chapter 47 applies citywide wherever FEMA's flood insurance rate maps show a one-percent annual flood risk, and the Director of Public Works administers and enforces the requirement.

Texas does not permit recreational marijuana dispensaries. The state's Compassionate Use Program allows a very limited number of licensed dispensing organizations to distribute low-THC cannabis to qualifying patients. Irving does not have local dispensary zoning because recreational dispensaries are illegal statewide. Any future state legalization would require new local zoning provisions.

Irving requires building permits for solar panel installations on residential and commercial properties. Texas Property Code Section 202.010 prohibits HOAs from completely banning solar energy devices. Irving's building department reviews solar installations for structural load, electrical safety, and compliance with the adopted building and electrical codes. Inspections are required before utility interconnection.

Irving treats window signs as a category of wall sign under Chapter 7 of the Code of Civil and Criminal Ordinances. Section 7-3(14) caps the combined area of every wall, window, canopy, awning, and projecting sign on a building at twenty-five percent of the largest facade, so storefront window lettering, decals, and painted glass all count toward that single ceiling enforced by the inspections director.

Irving permits electronic message signs only as small components of an on-premise monument, multi-tenant, wall, or canopy sign. They cap at 40 square feet, sit at least 100 feet from homes, and cannot show video, animation, scrolling, or flashing, so standalone digital billboards are effectively off the table.

Irving does not carve out a separate rule for political signs: Code § 7-17 folds them into the noncommercial-sign category and holds them to the same permit, fee, time, place, and manner rules as commercial signs citywide, including the right-of-way weekend window in § 7-4(4).

Irving does not allow new billboards along its freeways: only billboards that stood lawfully on a controlled-access freeway before June 3, 1999, can be converted to digital displays, and only after the city council grants a special sign permit. A converted digital billboard cannot sit within fifteen hundred feet of another digital billboard on the same side of the freeway.

Irving regulates temporary signs including garage sale signs under its sign ordinance. Garage sale signs may be placed on the property where the sale is occurring. Signs in the public right-of-way, on utility poles, or on traffic signs are prohibited and subject to removal by the city. Signs must be removed promptly after the sale concludes.

Irving does not have specific ordinances restricting holiday displays on private residential property. Seasonal decorations and holiday lighting are generally permitted as temporary displays. Displays must not create traffic hazards, obstruct sidewalks or fire hydrants, or violate electrical safety codes. HOAs may impose their own guidelines on holiday decoration timing and types.

Irving enforces property maintenance standards through Chapter 24 (Offenses) and property maintenance provisions of the city code. Properties must be kept free of junk, debris, high weeds, abandoned vehicles, and dilapidated structures. The city operates a proactive code enforcement program and responds to citizen complaints. Repeat violations face escalating penalties.

Irving requires vacant lot owners to maintain their properties free of high weeds, trash, and hazardous conditions. Weeds and grass must be kept below 12 inches. The city can abate violations on vacant lots and place a lien on the property for cleanup costs. Vacant structures must be secured to prevent unauthorized entry.

In Irving's State Highway 161 overlay district, exterior lighting cannot cast glare onto neighboring lots or streets and cannot add more than one footcandle of light at any point off the property. Building-mounted fixtures are also height-capped so spillover stays close to the ground and off adjacent land.

Irving's digital-billboard permit rules under Section 7-4.2(b) set hard limits on how a converted freeway billboard can display and light its image: no flashing, intermittent, or moving lights, no animated video or scrolling text, and the display must automatically dim or brighten to match natural ambient light conditions before city council will approve it.

New development in Irving's State Highway 161 overlay district must shield every outdoor fixture with skirts or cutoffs capped at a 90-degree angle so glare stays off neighboring property. Cobra-head fixtures, galvanized poles, and light arms over four feet are banned, and non-security lighting must dim or shut off after business hours.

Irving enforces building and housing standards for all rental properties. Texas Property Code Ch. 92 sets landlord obligations for habitability, security devices, and smoke detectors.

Irving has NO local just-cause eviction ordinance. Texas is a no-cause termination state under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001: a month-to-month tenancy may be ended by either party on 30 days' written notice without stating a reason. Fixed-term leases may be terminated for breach under Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 24.

Irving bans commercial dumpsters from front yards, rights-of-way, fire lanes, required parking, and any spot that blocks traffic or sight lines, and requires most of them to be screened on three sides with a masonry or cedar-board enclosure and a lockable gate. Roll-off containers ordered for construction debris are capped at twelve- or twenty-yard sizes.

Irving City Code § 33-4 makes it unlawful to throw or deposit garbage, brush, bulky items, construction debris, or other waste on private property you do not own or control. Code Enforcement handles complaints, and heavier loads draw criminal charges under Texas law.

Irving requires garbage and recycling bags to stay closed and secured at all times except while being filled, and to go out only at the curb location the city designates as most accessible, not in alleys. Residential collection runs from the street, and alley pickup is allowed only under a narrow, city-approved exception.

Irving defines curbside recycling as a service tied to the city's current recycling materials processing contract, and it treats hazardous, biohazardous, or non-recyclable items as contamination that voids the whole bag. Contaminated recycling is not collected; residents must check the city's online accepted-items list before setting bags at the curb.

Irving requires curbside recyclables to go out in the city's blue recycling bag, which must hold between thirteen and thirty gallons and weigh no more than fifty pounds when full. The city sells the bags itself, pricing them at its annual bid cost plus sales tax, rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Irving collects residential garbage twice a week and recycling once a week on days assigned by address. Section 33-13 requires carts and bags at the curb no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before and no later than 7 a.m. on collection day.

Irving collects residential trash twice a week and recycling plus brush and bulky items once a week on the same day. Find your days on the city's collection map at irvingtx.gov/waste-collections. When a holiday lands on your recycle/brush day, that service skips to the following week.

Irving confines recreational drone flying to three parks: Mountain Creek Preserve, Running Bear Park, and Sam Houston Trail Park, and only within each park's specifically designated flying area. Code § 25-4 also bars flying outside posted park hours, requires the operator to keep the drone in eyesight, and demands a safe distance from other park users.

Irving no longer issues its own mobile food truck permits. A truck must carry a Dallas County Health mobile food establishment permit to operate in the city, and Irving Code adopts the Texas Food Establishment Rules, which require an approved commissary.

Irving regulates door-to-door solicitation under its business regulations code. Commercial solicitors and peddlers must obtain a solicitor's permit before going door-to-door. Permit applicants undergo a background check. Solicitors must carry and display their permit while canvassing. Religious, political, and charitable organizations are exempt from the permit requirement.

Irving requires solicitors to honor No Soliciting signs posted at residences. Soliciting at a home with a posted no-soliciting sign is a violation of the city's solicitation ordinance. Residents may report violating solicitors to police or code enforcement. The protection applies to commercial solicitors but does not restrict political canvassers or religious visitors.

Every Irving city park posts its own opening and closing hours at the entrance, and Code § 25-2(a) makes it unlawful to be inside a park facility outside those posted hours or to trespass on a facility after it closes. Parks and recreation staff can also close specific facilities or fields early for maintenance or safety.

Irving sets minimum yard setbacks separately for each of its 35 zoning districts under the Unified Development Code. In the R-40 single-family district, principal structures must sit back 50 feet from the front property line, 50 feet from the rear line, and 20 feet on each side yard. Detached accessory buildings need at least 80 feet from the front lot line.

Irving's Unified Development Code caps how much of a single-family lot a house can cover, with the percentage set district by district. In the large-lot R-40 district it is 20 percent of total lot area; the limit rises as minimum lot size shrinks, reaching 40 percent in the R-7.5 district.

Irving's R-7.5 single-family zone, the city's most common residential district, caps houses at two stories or 25 feet, whichever applies, with lot coverage held to 40 percent of the lot. Larger-lot districts including R-40, R-15 and R-10 allow 2½ stories or 30 feet instead. The Community Development Department reviews height compliance during building permit review under the Unified Development Code.

Irving requires a landscaped interior parkway along the street frontage of every nonresidential development, averaging 10 feet deep with at least one large or medium tree per 400 square feet of parkway area. The Unified Development Code sets minimum soil volumes, species-diversity caps, and clearance from overhead power lines for these plantings, with zoning-code penalties for noncompliance.

Citywide, Irving bars anyone from damaging or removing a protected tree, defined as any species six inches or larger in diameter that is not on the city's unprotected list, without first obtaining a no-fee tree removal permit from the building official under Land Development Code § 4.5.8.

Inside Irving's Heritage Crossing District, any Post Oak, Blackjack Oak, or tree of 24-inch caliper or larger counts as a protected heritage tree. Developers preserving one earn a 1.5-to-1 landscaping credit, or 2-to-1 for six-inch-plus Post Oak and Blackjack Oak relic trees, under Land Development Code § 2.6.6.

Irving caps garage sales at two per calendar year per address and 72 consecutive hours per sale under Chapter 49 of the city code. Sales are confined to specific residential zoning districts, require a permit from the inspections department, and carry fines up to $2,000 per violation, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense.

TX Property Code § 209.00505 governs HOA architectural committees for associations with 40+ lots. Written denial notices required with right to board hearing within 30 days.

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA assessments. Associations may place liens for unpaid assessments but foreclosure is limited. Payment plans required for delinquent amounts.

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 (TRPOPA) governs HOA board procedures. Open meetings, voting, record access within 10 business days, and proper notice requirements are mandated statewide.

An Irving homeowners association cannot levy a fine until it mails the owner certified written notice describing the violation, allows a reasonable period to cure, and offers a hearing the owner may request within 30 days. State law, not a city ordinance, controls.

Texas Property Code Ch. 209 sets procedures for CC&R enforcement including required notice, hearing, and reasonable fine limits. Dedicatory instruments bind property owners upon purchase.

TX Property Code Ch. 209 provides dispute resolution procedures including mandatory internal hearings before fines. Alternative dispute resolution (mediation/arbitration) is available.

Irving has no separate storm or tornado debris program. Downed limbs and damaged household goods go out on the city's normal brush and bulky-waste routes, and Code § 33-18.22(h) requires franchise haulers to supply extra equipment at regular rates when disaster strikes.

Every residential board and care facility in Irving, one housing 16 or more unrelated residents receiving personal care, must fit each building used for living or sleeping quarters with an automatic NFPA 13R sprinkler system. The system must cover every living area, closet, bathroom, hallway and stairway, tie into a fire department connection, and stay monitored by a central station at all times the facility is occupied.

Irving's minimum maintenance standards require the owner and manager of every structure and premises in the city to provide and maintain carbon monoxide and smoke detection equipment in operable condition under Sec. 8-26(i), keeping the systems in line with the International Fire Code. Inspectors can enter and cite noncompliant properties.

Irving enforces the 2023 National Electrical Code, with its Informative Annex H, as the city's electrical code under Section 8B-21, and Section 8B-22 layers in Irving's own amendments that control wherever they conflict with the published NEC. Electrical contractors must register annually with the city and hold a valid permit before doing electrical work anywhere in Irving.

Irving requires every child-care facility, center, home, or parent's day out program, to hold a city inspections department permit on top of state licensing. Operating without one is unlawful, and the permit must be renewed annually or late fees and revocation follow.

Irving adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code as its plumbing code under Section 8B-7, with local amendments controlling wherever they conflict with the published IPC text. Anyone doing plumbing work in the city, other than a homesteaded homeowner working on their own residence, must be a city-registered plumbing contractor and obtain a permit before starting work.

Irving requires a permit before construction under its adopted 2024 International Building Code. The Inspections Department issues permits, and starting any building, electrical, gas, plumbing, or mechanical work without one triggers an investigation fee on top of the regular permit fee.

Owners of a building with a sidewalk elevator or lift must keep it in good repair and the surface doors flush with the sidewalk, and are personally liable for injuries the public suffers from a defective unit. Removal ends the annual $100 fee.

Irving imposes enhanced green-building performance standards on new multifamily and mixed-use residential development under Section 8B-30, requiring at least ten percent better energy efficiency than the baseline International Energy Conservation Code, all-electric HVAC and appliance infrastructure, high-efficiency SEER 16 or higher HVAC, and net-zero-ready solar and battery infrastructure.

Irving's inspections staff can examine any residential or nonresidential structure and premises in the city without giving the owner advance notice, under Code § 8-32. They get emergency entry any time a hazard threatens life or property, and routine entry at reasonable times otherwise; if an occupant refuses, the inspector can use legal process to force entry.

Reserving an Irving park facility for an outdoor event requires a venue rental application to Parks and Recreation with a detailed site plan before any Special Event Permit Application under Chapter 33B can be filed. Renters pay council-set fees, cannot sublet the space, and must carry $1,000,000 in liability insurance for crowd-drawing or fundraising events.

Any parade or procession of 30 or more people or five or more vehicles in Irving needs a permit from the police chief before it can march down a public street, per Section 21-22. Funeral processions and certain government forces are exempt from that threshold, but a second clause requires a permit from the chief for any parade of any size, funerals aside.

Irving residents must file a block party application with the special event coordinator at least 14 days ahead, notify neighbors within 200 feet, and keep the closure to a set window and length. Pyrotechnics are banned and the permit issues for one day only.

Vendors at an Irving special event must stay inside the area shown on the approved site plan, keep pedestrian paths clear, and hold a valid Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit plus a city vendor license. Violations tie into the special event permit itself.

In Irving's Heritage Crossing District, near the TRE Heritage Crossing station along Main Street, Irving Boulevard and Second Street, a restaurant cannot just set tables on the public sidewalk. Patio dining, canopies and awnings that reach into the right-of-way need the city's permission first, and the Unified Development Code caps how far they can go and how much headroom they must leave.

Irving places the cost of installing and fixing the sidewalk in front of a property on the abutting owner. If an owner refuses after the city orders the work, the city can build it and place a lien on the property for the cost.

Anyone wanting to place a display in Irving's street right-of-way, not merchandise for sale, must get a city manager permit good for a maximum of three months, carry adequate liability insurance, and sign a hold-harmless agreement naming the city.

Irving Ch. 22 general noise provisions apply to generators. Continuous use of generators producing unreasonable noise may be cited. Emergency generators during power outages are generally tolerated.

Irving restaurants and bars using amplified sound must stop by 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and stay under 70 dBA at the property line, unless they sit within 300 feet of a home that predates the business.

Irving bans loading and unloading noise near homes and businesses between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends. A separate exemption lets restaurants receive late deliveries only if they stay under 65 dBA and last under an hour.

Irving Ch. 22 general noise provisions apply to HVAC equipment. Units must not produce unreasonably loud noise disturbing neighbors. Placement must comply with UDC setback requirements.

A written, signed, and dated complaint from an Irving tenant under Texas Property Code § 92.052, copied to the city, doubles as the tenant's consent for city inspectors to enter and inspect the rental unit. Condo occupants get a parallel path for common-area complaints, routed through the council of owners or its designated agent.

Irving inspects multi-family rental communities and assigns each a risk rating. A property rated 5 must install a heat detection system and improve to rating 4 or better within twelve months, or the building official revokes its certificate of occupancy.

Irving does not have a specific bamboo ordinance. Running bamboo that encroaches on neighbor property may be addressed as a nuisance. Property owners are responsible for containment.

Irving does not prohibit front yard vegetable gardens. Texas HB 2436 protects homeowners' right to grow gardens. HOAs may impose reasonable aesthetic standards but cannot ban food gardens.

Irving does not maintain a city-level prohibited plant species list. Texas Department of Agriculture and USDA regulate noxious weeds and invasive species at the state and federal level.

Texas law permits security cameras on your own property. Cameras must not record areas where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. TX Penal Code § 21.15 prohibits invasive visual recording.

Texas is a one-party consent state for audio recording. Video recording in public spaces is legal. Invasive visual recording in private areas is a state jail felony under TX Penal Code § 21.15.

Irving's Unified Development Code sets aside an Agricultural (AG) zoning district where farming, ranching and related uses are permitted by right. Lots must run at least 200 by 200 feet with a 150,000-square-foot minimum, and yards are set at 50 feet on every side.

Irving makes it a misdemeanor to stand, remain or congregate on a public street or sidewalk in a way that obstructs others, then refuse a police order to move on or disperse.

Camping overnight on any Irving park property is unlawful unless it is part of a city-provided program, under City Code Section 25-2(f). Statewide, Texas HB 1925 makes camping in any public place a Class C misdemeanor.

Red-light cameras are illegal in Irving. Texas Transportation Code 707.020 bars every local authority from implementing or operating a photographic traffic signal enforcement system on any street under its jurisdiction, and the Texas Attorney General enforces the ban.

Irving has no cryptocurrency-specific ordinance. A crypto-mining operation is classified as a 'data center' under the Unified Development Code: a defined principal use allowed only in appropriate nonresidential districts and expressly prohibited in the Heavy Industrial Mixed-Use (HI-MU) district.

Irving's noise code singles out standby generators at data centers: they cannot be tested or run for maintenance between 7:00 p.m. and 7:59 a.m., and are expressly excluded from the 85 dBA allowance that covers residential mechanical equipment.

In Irving, a data center is a principal use allowed only by Conditional Use Permit, and only in the C-W, ML-20, ML-20a, ML-40, ML-120, or C-P districts. Smaller accessory data centers are permitted in five office and commercial districts.

Irving's Water Management Plan documents an active, contractual, non-potable water reuse system rather than a rule for individual customers. The Dallas County Utility and Reclamation District delivers reclaimed effluent and Trinity River surface water to irrigate the Las Colinas development's four golf courses, medians and lakes, and the city separately reuses treated effluent to irrigate its own Irving Golf Club under a Trinity River Authority contract.

Irving's landscape ordinance, updated by the city council on February 15, 2018, lets residential and commercial properties meet minimum landscaping standards by replacing grass turf with rock, stone, gravel, artificial turf or xeriscape planting instead of irrigated lawn. The Land Development Code carries the same option forward for residential yards, while a companion irrigation ordinance sets permit fees and equipment rules for any sprinkler system installed alongside the new landscaping.

Irving makes it a criminal offense to let water leak, pond, or run unrepaired on your property. City Code Sec. 41-14.1(c) requires property owners to abate leaking or flowing water rather than let it reach a neighbor's lot, a street, or a right-of-way, backed by a misdemeanor fine.

Irving's Downtown Development District requires new buildings and major renovations in the Downtown Pedestrian Subdistrict to score at least 40 points on a design-points table covering canopies, glazing, materials and streetscape amenities, rising to 55 points on Main Street. The district was created to redevelop historic downtown around walkable, pedestrian-oriented standards.

Irving property owners must maintain premises free from conditions that harbor pests. TX Structural Pest Control Act regulates pest control operators. Landlords must address infestations per property code.

Groups that serve free food to the public at outdoor charity events in Irving must notify the city's Health Manager in writing 48 hours ahead, and Section 18-4 lets the Health Manager require a trained or certified food handler whenever the food being served needs time and temperature control, such as items kept hot or refrigerated.

Irving levies a 7 percent hotel occupancy tax on any room costing $2.00 or more per day, collected by the operator and remitted to the city's chief financial officer. Permanent residents of 30+ days, government travelers, diplomats and military on official duty are exempt.

Irving's zoning code names auto-related businesses as one of only four activities expressly barred from operating as a customary home occupation, alongside physical or medical treatment of persons, electrical shops, and plumber shops. That means a homeowner cannot run a car repair, detailing, or similar auto service business out of a house in any residential zoning district.

Operating a wrecker or towing service in Irving requires a city license from the chief of police plus a $25 annual permit for each truck, and non-consent tows must be reported to the Irving Police Department before the driver leaves the scene.

Anyone buying, selling or dealing in junk within Irving, which the city defines broadly as scrap metal, rags, bottles, dismantled fixtures and used auto parts, must hold an annual dealer's license from the city's tax assessor and collector. Section 19-2 sets the license fee at $25 per year, plus an added fee for every junk wagon the dealer runs.

Irving's Unified Development Code bars retail tobacco sales for off-premises consumption within 1,000 feet of any school or public park, including youth and recreation centers. Section 3.23 also requires stores to switch off illuminated signage after business hours and locks existing nonconforming shops into strict limits on expansion, ownership transfer, and lapses in operation.

Irving requires a city-issued sexually oriented business license and bars these businesses within 1,000 feet of a church, school, child care, park, residence, hospital, or another adult business. Applications go to the chief of police; operating without a license is an offense.

Irving requires a separate city license for every massage establishment and a separate license for every massaginist, issued by the chief of police and valid one year. Operating or working without one is a criminal misdemeanor enforced by the Irving Police Department.

Irving makes it a per se violation to make, or knowingly permit, any unreasonably loud, disturbing noise in a dwelling or on any public street, and bars yelling, shouting, or amplified sound in residential areas between 10:00 p.m. and 6:59 a.m. Enforced by Irving police under Chapter 22.

Riding a skateboard, roller skates, coaster or other wheeled toy vehicle on an Irving roadway is illegal outside of a marked crosswalk under Section 21-17, and even in the crosswalk the rider takes on a pedestrian's rights and duties. Streets set aside as play areas by city ordinance are exempt from this restriction.

Irving bans smoking in the outdoor areas of any building or grounds the city owns, operates, or manages, including parks and recreation facilities. The ban carries exceptions for private residences, tobacco-related businesses, business patios, and golf course grounds. Violators face a strict liability citation under Chapter 48, with each day and each area treated as a separate offense.

Irving has enacted no city ordinance against open containers or drinking alcohol in public. The subject is left to Texas state law: Penal Code Section 49.031 makes possessing an open container in a vehicle's passenger area on a public road a Class C misdemeanor.

Irving classifies defecating or urinating on streets, alleys or public grounds, or anywhere visible from a home or passing pedestrians, as a public nuisance. The rule sits in the city's general nuisance chapter, punishable by a fine up to $2,000.

Marijuana is illegal in Irving. Texas Health and Safety Code section 481.121 makes possessing two ounces or less a Class B misdemeanor, and Irving has adopted no local ordinance decriminalizing possession or public consumption.

Irving makes it unlawful to loiter on another person's property or premises without being able to give a good account of yourself. The century-old rule sits in the city's miscellaneous offenses chapter alongside separate obstruction ordinances for streets and building entrances.

Irving pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield to all vehicles, and between signalized intersections they may cross only in a marked crosswalk. Violating Section 21-164 is a traffic offense enforceable citywide.

Irving licenses every coin-operated amusement machine business through the chief of police, splitting locations into amusement centers or amusement stores by machine density and capping hours, machine spacing, and operator age under Chapter 44.