Franklin Township, PA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Chapter 10, Part 1's mandatory-cutting rule is narrower than a blanket 12-inch height cap might suggest. Section 10-101's legislative intent limits the whole Part to the residential, non-agricultural portions of Franklin Township: it explicitly states the ordinance 'is not intended to be applicable to land maintained in a natural and undeveloped state such as woodland or wetland,' preserving naturalized and wooded areas of a property from forced mowing. Section 10-102 builds a second, more specific exclusion into the definition itself. 'Excess growth' is defined as vegetation over 12 inches tall, but the same sentence carves out ornamental shrubs, foundation plantings, and hardwood or softwood trees, along with any agricultural products, from that definition entirely, regardless of height.

That means a homeowner's landscaped shrub beds, foundation plantings around the house, and ornamental or shade trees are never 'excess growth' under this ordinance no matter how tall they grow, and a property with crops or other agricultural products on it is likewise excluded. The only vegetation the definition still reaches irrespective of these exclusions is growth that blocks visibility on a public highway or interferes with pedestrian traffic on a sidewalk or public right-of-way, which the ordinance separately treats as excess growth. There is no permit, registration or notice-of-intent process required to maintain an exempt planting bed, woodland edge or ornamental tree; the exclusions apply automatically by the terms of the definitions in Section 10-102.