Apex, NC Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Apex Chapter 14 (Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions) provides the local nuisance authority over uncontrolled vegetation. The Town does not publish a separate list of state-noxious or invasive species banned from private property; instead, it relies on the general nuisance standard. North Carolina law authorizes the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services to designate noxious weeds under 2 NCAC 48A .1701, and the NC Plant Industry Division enforces statewide quarantines on species like cogongrass and beach vitex, which take precedence over local regulation. Apex Code Enforcement (Planning & Community Development) handles complaints; the abatement procedure mirrors the grass/weed schedule — written notice to the owner, opportunity to cure, then town abatement at the owner's expense if the nuisance persists. The cost of abatement is assessed as a lien on the lot. State preemption under NCGS 160D-921 limits how Apex may regulate forestry on present-use-value forestland or forester-managed forests, but does not bar nuisance abatement of noxious weeds on developed or vacant residential lots.