Carrollton, TX Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 95.02(A) sets the base rule: any owner or occupant of real property that is not an agricultural operation, occupied or unoccupied, may not let grass, weeds, brush or unsightly vegetation exceed 10 inches. Agricultural operations get a 12-inch allowance under § 95.02(B), but only outside a 10-foot buffer along any public sidewalk, street or highway and along the boundary of a neighboring lot that has an inhabited structure owned by someone else; inside that buffer the shorter general standard still applies. The same section separately bans overhanging brush: tree limbs and vegetation may not hang lower than 12 feet above a street or alley, 7 feet above a sidewalk, or 10 feet above a driveway, and dead trees, stumps or dead shrubs on residential property are themselves a violation under § 95.02(G).

Section 95.02(H) removes any culpable-mental-state requirement, so the city does not have to prove the owner knew the vegetation had grown too tall. Enforcement runs through § 95.03, which makes the owner or occupant responsible for cutting from the curb line (or 10 feet past the property line where no curb exists) out to the center of the adjoining alley or utility easement. Section 95.06 lets the Designated City Official notify violators personally, by mail, or by newspaper publication twice within ten days when the owner cannot be located, but § 95.06(C) makes clear notice is not a precondition to prosecution.

If the owner does not comply within ten days of notice, § 95.07 lets the city mow the lot itself and § 95.08 assesses the cost as a lien against the property, second only to tax liens, accruing 10 percent annual interest starting 180 days after the city pays for the work. A property is exempt only if the Designated City Official has formally designated it a no-mow zone, the sole defense under § 95.09.