Fauquier County, VA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 14-14 of the county code makes it unlawful for owners of occupied or vacant, developed or undeveloped property, including property with buildings or other improvements, to allow grass, weeds and other foreign growth to grow without being cut. The section specifically names running bamboo, defining it as any bamboo characterized by aggressive spreading behavior, including species in the genus Phyllostachys, a clause the board added by Ord. No. 20-07 on August 13, 2020. The article applies only within platted subdivisions or areas zoned residential, business, commercial or industrial, has no force within any incorporated town, and does not reach land zoned for or in active farming operation.

Environmental Services and code enforcement staff act on complaints; under § 14-15 the county may cut the growth itself after reasonable notice, defined as one written notice per growing season to the owner of record, and recover the cost as a real estate tax lien, which the county may waive for an unrelated purchaser to allow a sale to close. Penalties run under § 14-16: up to $50 for a first violation, up to $200 for a later violation within twelve months, each business day a separate offense, capped at $3,000 in civil penalties in any twelve-month period, and a Class 3 misdemeanor if a defendant has already faced three civil penalties for the same or similar violation within twenty-four months.