Chicopee, MA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 243-38 of the Code of the City of Chicopee, Overgrowth on land, was added 9-20-2007 by Ord. No. 07-64. It applies to "the owner or person in control of any parcel of land, including a vacant piece of property," so it reaches occupied residential lots, commercial parcels and empty ground alike. The duty applies "at all times," not just in a growing season or after a complaint.

The measurement is written into the ordinance rather than left to an inspector's judgment: any property with 12 inches or more is considered overgrowth. The section does not say whether the 12 inches is grass, weeds or brush, and it does not say where on the lot the measurement is taken, so the plain reading is any growth at that height. The owner or person in control must cut or remove the overgrowth, and either action satisfies the ordinance.

The penalty is a noncriminal fine of $50, and the Health Department enforces the section. That means a violation is handled as a citation rather than a criminal complaint. The general penalty in § 243-44, which carries $50 and a like penalty for each day a violation is repeated or continued, applies to Chapter 243 violations where no different penalty is specially provided, and § 243-38 prints its own $50 fine.

A history note in the code records that the former § 243-38, Violations and penalties, was repealed 2-15-2000 by Ord. No. 00-13A, so the current § 243-38 is the 2007 overgrowth rule and not the old penalty section.

Two neighboring rules matter to the same lot. Section 243-37 requires owners and occupants abutting a sidewalk or tree belt to keep lawn and trees appropriately trimmed, at a $100 fine. Section 169-34 requires the owner or person in control of private property to keep the premises free from litter at all times.