Georgetown, KY Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Georgetown's weed section, substituted for IPMC § 302.4 by § 8-165, opens with a statement of purpose that is unusual for a property maintenance code. The city acknowledges the desirability of permitting and encouraging the preservation and restoration of natural plant communities in urban, suburban and rural areas, and it seeks to guarantee its citizens the freedom to employ natural landscaping as a viable and desirable alternative to conventional modes of landscaping, including freedom from toxic chemicals. The section also promotes native vegetation, including native grasses and wildflowers, in managed yards and landscapes.

Three operative provisions carry that purpose. First, the definition of managed vegetation: vegetation utilized in a planned or designed yard or landscape, including natural landscaping, with the intent to control, direct and maintain the growth of natural vegetation according to its natural characteristics. Managed vegetation is not subject to the ten inches height restriction that applies to untended, rank or unmanaged vegetation. Second, § 302.4 C, Natural Landscaping Protected, bars city agents and employees from enforcing the section or issuing an order directing the destruction or removal of any native vegetation, including native grasses and wildflowers, in managed yards and landscapes. Third, § 302.4 D makes it lawful to grow native and naturalized plants to any heights in a managed landscape, with the condition that the plants must be obtained and possessed according to law.

The protection has limits. The same section directs agents to enforce it and order removal of vegetation in violation, including conditions that create a clear and present hazard to public health or safety, a threat to the agricultural economy, or a harborage for rodents, snakes, or mosquitoes. Plants designated noxious by state law, such as Johnson grass, kudzu and multiflora rose, are not promoted, and their presence is evidence of unmanaged vegetation. Any order is limited to the offending vegetation unless general destruction is necessary. Under § 302.4 E, aesthetic judgments are not a consideration in deciding compliance.