Bozeman, MT Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)
Key Facts
- Deadline
- Ten days after written notice
- Notice sent by
- City engineer
- Numeric weed height limit
- None printed in the section
- Branch clearance over sidewalk
- At least seven feet in this section
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor on conviction
- City abatement
- At owner's expense, assessed to property as a tax
Summary
In the City of Bozeman, Montana, the owner or agent of any lot must cut and destroy weeds and vegetation growing on, in front of, or along the property within ten days after the city engineer sends written notice. Failing to cut is a violation punished as a misdemeanor.
Any person who is the owner of or agent for any lot or parcel of land within the city limits, who permits or suffers to exist upon, in front of, or along such premises so owned by said person or for which said person is the agent, any growth of weeds or vegetation, or any tree or shrub of which the limbs or branches extend over any public sidewalk at a height of less than seven feet above such sidewalk, shall be deemed guilty of maintaining a nuisance, and if such owner or agent neglects or refuses to cut and destroy any such growth of weeds or vegetation, or to cut away such branches, within ten days after being notified in writing by the city engineer to cut the same, the owner or agent shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this article, and upon conviction shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.
Full Breakdown
Bozeman Municipal Code § 16.04.010 opens Chapter 16, Article 4, Weed Abatement, and covers any lot or parcel of land within the city limits. The duty sits on the owner or the owner's agent, and it reaches growth upon the premises, in front of them, or along them, so the strip beside the street is included with the lot itself.
The code prints no numeric height for weeds or grass. Nothing turns on inches or feet of growth. The trigger is a written notice from the city engineer directing the owner to cut the growth. The one measurement in the section is for overhead branches: any tree or shrub with limbs extending over a public sidewalk at a height of less than seven feet above the sidewalk is treated the same way as weeds.
Permitting or suffering such growth to exist makes the owner guilty of maintaining a nuisance. The violation itself begins when the owner or agent neglects or refuses to cut and destroy the growth, or to cut away the branches, within ten days after the written notice. Conviction is punished as for a misdemeanor.
Section 16.04.020 gives the city engineer a second path. Instead of prosecuting the owner, the city engineer can abate the nuisance, either after notice or immediately without notice, depending on the engineer's judgment of the necessity in each case. The cost lands on the owner, and the City Commission can specially assess that expense to the property as a tax, collected as other taxes are collected. That section applies whether the lot is occupied or unoccupied.
Violations & Fines
A violation exists once the ten days run after the city engineer's written notice and the weeds, vegetation, or low branches are still there. Conviction is punished as for a misdemeanor. Section 1.01.210, the general penalty clause, sets misdemeanor punishment at a fine not exceeding $500.00, imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, plus costs, and treats each day a violation continues as a separate offense. City abatement at the owner's expense is the alternative to prosecution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Bozeman set a maximum height for grass and weeds?
Who has to cut the weeds, an owner or a tenant?
What happens if the city cuts the weeds itself?
Does the rule apply to a vacant lot in Bozeman?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bozeman
How Bozeman compares: Cities with the Strictest Weed and Property Maintenance Rules·Compare Bozeman to another location·View the Montana landscaping rules overview
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