Lafayette, IN Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Section 8.07.010 of the Lafayette Municipal Code defines 'Weeds' broadly to reach not only unmanaged, abandoned or overgrown vegetation but also any plant growth identified as prohibited, noxious, or invasive under Indiana Code Section 15-16-7-2, or under rules adopted by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources or the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. The definition sits inside Chapter 8.07's 2026 rewrite, which lets a property owner plant a 'managed natural landscape' of native or ecologically appropriate grasses, sedges, forbs, wildflowers, shrubs and trees without being cited for the chapter's usual ten-inch vegetation height limit.

That exemption is conditional: Section 8.07.030(B) requires an owner who establishes a managed natural landscape to keep the area from encroaching into sidewalks, alleys or neighboring properties and, specifically, to prevent the growth of any invasive or prohibited plant species referenced in Section 8.07.010's weeds definition, along with any condition creating a public safety or visibility hazard. Section 8.07.030(D) also makes clear that a managed natural landscape does not exempt a property from the city's Unified Zoning Ordinance or any other duly adopted local regulation.

The chapter itself was substantially rewritten by Ordinance No. 2026-08, adopted April 6, 2026, replacing an earlier weeds chapter that traced back to the 1971 Code; the city keeps no separate list of banned ornamental or invasive species outside this definitional cross-reference to state noxious-weed law.