Fulton County, GA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

The county's litter and property-maintenance article works in two steps. Section 34-730 defines vegetative overgrowth as any and all uncultivated vegetative growth exceeding a height of 12 inches, measured vertically from the surface of the ground, covering a portion of any lot, tract, or parcel of land not occupied by buildings, other structures, or trees. Three parts of that definition matter in practice. The growth must be uncultivated, so tended garden and landscape plantings sit outside it. The 12 inches is measured straight up from the ground surface.

And ground occupied by buildings, other structures, or trees is excluded, so a mature tree is not itself overgrowth. Section 34-743(b)(4) then makes the existence of weeds and vegetative overgrowth on property within unincorporated Fulton County a violation of the section and the article. Enforcement belongs to the Department of Public Works and the Department of Environment and Community Development, which handle notices and citations. The rule stops at city limits: Atlanta, Johns Creek, and the county's other incorporated cities enforce their own weed ordinances, so the 12-inch figure governs only the unincorporated county.