West Des Moines, IA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

The nuisance chapter's weed exceptions give West Des Moines property owners two distinct paths to grow native vegetation without tripping the ten-inch height rule. Subsection 4-4-2(A)(5), 'Gardens,' covers areas dedicated to fruits, vegetables, flowers, native plants, ornamental grasses, ground covers, and similar plants, but only if they are cultivated or mulched to stay free of weeds, grassy weeds, and volunteer plants; garden vegetation cannot be allowed to spread onto a neighbor's property, fruit and vegetable gardens are barred from the public right-of-way outright, and any right-of-way landscaping is limited to the area immediately around a mailbox and capped at eight square feet, with no compensation from the City if it is damaged or removed.

Subsection 4-4-2(A)(8), 'Native Planting Areas,' separately exempts areas of native plant species on any parcel, but only when they are part of a landscape plan submitted and approved as part of a development permit, and the exception expressly excludes individual single-family lots. As an alternative to annual cutting, approved native planting areas under either exception may instead be maintained by controlled burning if the property owner obtains a permit from the city's fire department. Even with these exceptions, the City cannot waive a state noxious-weed requirement: no exception applies if it would violate Iowa's weed law, Iowa Code chapter 317.