Georgetown, KY Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Georgetown enforces its weed rule through the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, which the City Council adopted in § 8-164. Section 8-165 then omits the printed IPMC § 302.4 and substitutes a local Weeds section. That section defines untended, rank or unmanaged vegetation as overgrown vegetation, or vegetation in an unhealthful condition, that provides a direct health hazard or a demonstrated breeding ground for fauna such as rodents, snakes and mosquitoes, and it declares that vegetation a public nuisance. The measurable trigger is height: vegetation exceeding ten inches is a violation of the section.

The code addresses the ordinary lawn directly. A conventional yard, even one that includes chicory, dandelions, crabgrass and other plants besides grass, is folded into the definition of untended, rank or unmanaged vegetation, but the code states that the yard does not violate the section unless its height exceeds ten inches. The other half of the rule is the managed vegetation exemption: vegetation used in a planned or designed yard or landscape, including natural landscaping, is not subject to the ten inches height restriction.

Section 302.4 E sets out how the city must enforce. The section is to be proactively and uniformly enforced on all property within the city limits, aesthetic judgments are not a consideration in deciding compliance, the city must promptly notify the owner of all applicable rights including the right of appeal, and no city agent can enter or act on private land without due process of law.

Under IPMC § 103.1 as amended, the code enforcement board and the city's code enforcement officers are responsible for enforcement. References to a "notice of violation" are replaced by the word "citation," notice, form and service follow chapter 2, article VI of the Georgetown Code, and right of entry follows § 2-791.