Evanston, IL Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 8-5-1 defines "weeds" broadly: every species listed on the Illinois Noxious Weed Law (505 ILCS 100/1 et seq.) and the Illinois Exotic Weed Law (525 ILCS 10/1 et seq.), plus poison ivy and wild parsnip by name, plus any unmowed or uncultivated grass of any variety. "Turf grass" is defined separately as intentionally planted, low-mowing groundcover, typically kept at two inches or below. Section 8-5-2 then sets the operative rule: it is illegal for a real estate owner to refuse or neglect to cut weeds once they reach a height over eight inches (8"). Section 8-5-3 extends the duty to the abutting City parkway between the sidewalk and the street, and authorizes the City to mow or remove the growth itself, or to hire someone to do it, once the owner has received notice of violation and an opportunity to cure and still has not acted.

Cost recovery runs through Section 8-5-4: after the City cuts, it may record a lien against the property with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, filed within sixty (60) days of incurring the cost, describing the parcel and stating the amount owed. The lien is released once the owner pays.

Section 8-5-5, added in 2023, pauses active enforcement each year between January 1 and May 15, but the City is explicit that the break is not a free pass: the ordinance directs owners to take extra care during that window to keep rodents from nesting in uncut growth, and tells residents to report complaints or verified rodent sightings to the Evanston Health Department for pest-control response rather than wait for the height rule to resume.