Daviess County, KY Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)
Key Facts
- Height limit
- 10 inches
- Trigger radius
- Within 100 feet of residential/commercial property
- Grace period
- 7 consecutive days
- Enforcing official
- Solid Waste Coordinator
- Fine range
- $25 to $500 per offense
- Appeal deadline
- 20 days to Board of Appeals
Summary
Daviess County caps weeds and grasses at 10 inches on lots within 100 feet of a residential, commercial or professional property outside Owensboro's city limits. Letting garbage, rubbish or overgrown weeds sit for seven straight days makes the lot a declared public nuisance the Solid Waste Coordinator can act on.
No person or entity shall maintain any lot or acreage located within 100 feet of the boundary of any residential, commercial or professional property in Daviess County but outside the corporate limits of the City of Owensboro on which garbage or rubbish accumulates or excessive amounts of weeds are allowed to grow above ten inches. Any such acreage or lot on which such garbage, rubbish or weeds are allowed to remain for seven consecutive days is declared a public nuisance and dangerous to the health, welfare, safety and convenience of the people in the county.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-20: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. KOC 520.3 (2025), passed 12-18-2025; and State legislation current through KRS Pamphlet 2025).
Full Breakdown
04 of the Property Maintenance Enforcement chapter defines WEEDS as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation other than trees or shrubs, excluding cultivated flowers, gardens and agricultural crops. The rule bars anyone from maintaining a lot or acreage within 100 feet of a residential, commercial or professional property in the county, but outside Owensboro's corporate limits, where garbage or rubbish accumulates or weeds grow above 10 inches. Once that condition persists for seven consecutive days, the property is declared a public nuisance dangerous to the health, welfare, safety and convenience of county residents.
09: the coordinator investigates a verified complaint, then must issue written notice describing the violation and giving at least seven days to correct it before pursuing abatement. If the owner does not comply, the county may remove or abate the overgrowth itself and bill the cost to the owner as a personal liability, and that unpaid cost becomes a lien recorded against the property in the County Clerk's office. Owners can appeal a notice or order to the Daviess County Property Maintenance Code Board of Appeals within 20 days by filing at the Judge/Executive's office, 212 St.
Ann Street, Room 202, Owensboro. This ordinance applies only to unincorporated Daviess County; property inside Owensboro or Whitesville falls under those cities' own codes, not this section.
Violations & Fines
Violating Section 93.04 exposes the property owner to the Chapter 93 penalty in Section 93.99: a fine between $25 and $500 per offense, set at the court's discretion, and every day the violation continues after due notice counts as a separate offense. Unpaid abatement costs billed by the County Treasurer become a recorded lien against the real estate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can grass or weeds get in unincorporated Daviess County?
Who enforces the weed ordinance in Daviess County?
Does this weed rule apply inside Owensboro?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Daviess County
How Daviess County compares: Cities with the Strictest Weed and Property Maintenance Rules·Compare Daviess County to another location·View the Kentucky landscaping rules overview
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