Philadelphia, PA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Philadelphia Code § 6-402(8)(a), in the Business, Professional and Community Controls chapter of the Health Code, authorizes the Department of Public Health to act whenever it finds noxious plants such as ragweed or poison ivy growing on any uncultivated area to the extent that they are or may become a menace to public health. The Department orders the owner or person in charge of the property to correct or remove the condition; the text sets no fixed removal deadline, leaving the compliance window to the order itself.

Under § 6-502, that order must ordinarily be in writing and served on the responsible person, except that the Department may issue an oral order in the first instance when it finds willfulness or a menace to public health requiring immediate corrective action. Anyone served with an order must comply within the reasonable period the Department specifies. Before appealing, a person aggrieved by the order may request a hearing before the Health Commissioner within 5 days of receiving it, per § 6-502(5); a formal appeal then runs to the Board of License and Inspection Review within 30 days under § 6-504(1).

Filing an appeal does not excuse compliance if the Department certifies in writing that immediate compliance is necessary to protect public health. Enforcement runs through the Health Code's general penalty section: § 6-103(1) sets a fine of not less than $150 and not more than $300 for violating any order the Department issues under Title 6, and § 6-103(2) lets the Board of Health raise that ceiling by regulation up to the Class III offense limits fixed in § 1-109(3). Section 6-103(3) treats continued noncompliance with the same order as a separate violation for each day it persists, so an uncorrected ragweed or poison ivy stand can generate multiple daily fines rather than one flat penalty.