Charleston caps grass and weeds at 10 inches; a taller lawn is a nuisance the city can cut and bill. South Charleston, St. Albans, Dunbar, and Nitro run similar limits, while unincorporated Kanawha County relies on general nuisance abatement.
West Virginia sets no statewide grass-height statute, so the binding rule is each municipality's nuisance or property-maintenance ordinance. In Charleston, grass and weeds over 10 inches are prohibited; code enforcement issues an on-the-spot citation and written notice, and if the owner does not mow, the city or its contractor cuts the lot and charges the cost as a lien. South Charleston, St. Albans, Dunbar, and Nitro adopt comparable 8-to-10-inch limits. Kanawha County's humid climate and roughly 44 inches of yearly rain push vigorous growth from April through October. In the unincorporated county there is no height statute; the county commission and sheriff act only through general nuisance authority, mainly on vacant and blighted lots.
Charleston issues an on-the-spot citation and written notice with a deadline to mow. Miss it and the city or its contractor cuts the lot and bills the cost to the owner as a lien, plus the fine.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kanawha County, WV
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Kanawha County, WV
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Kanawha County, WV
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Kanawha County, WV
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Kanawha County, WV
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Kanawha County, WV
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See how Kanawha County's grass height limits rules stack up against other locations.
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