Fitchburg, WI Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Fitchburg City Code Sec. 37-71 allows any owner or operator of land in the city to apply to the building inspector for approval of a land management plan for a native landscape, defined as one where grasses exceed eight inches, exempting it from the normal cap in Sec. 37-69. A parallel application for a 'natural lawn,' also defined as grasses exceeding eight inches, goes to the department of planning and development instead (Sec. 37-72). Sec. 37-73 spells out what the written land management plan must include: a legal description of the lawn, a statement of intent and purpose, a general description of the vegetation types and plant succession involved, and the specific management and maintenance techniques to be used.

Even an approved plan is not unconditional: it must provide for cutting the terrace area, meaning the strip between sidewalk and street, or at least four feet next to the street where there is no sidewalk, to no more than eight inches, and for cutting at least a three-foot strip along neighboring property lines unless the abutting owner waives it. All lawn and grass areas covered by the plan must be cut between June 30 and October 15 whenever the fire chief believes there is cause for a fire hazard.

Applicants must mail or personally deliver a copy of the application to every owner of record within 200 feet of the property, using a list the building inspection department provides, and certify under oath how notice was given (Sec. 37-75); if 51 percent or more of those notified property owners file written objections within 15 days, the department must deny the application.