Detroit, MI Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Sec. 8-15-104 of the Detroit City Code requires "all premises and exterior property" to stay under eight inches of weeds or plant growth, but the same section carves out "plant growth in exterior areas where flowers and gardens are maintained and cultivated." That means a homeowner who plants a deliberate native-species or pollinator garden bed, rather than mowed lawn, is not in violation just because the plants exceed eight inches, as long as the bed reads as tended rather than abandoned. Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department inspectors enforce the underlying weed limit citywide under Chapter 8's Property Maintenance Code.