Under Michigan's Noxious Weed Act, a landowner must destroy noxious weeds before they go to seed. Enforcement runs through a local noxious-weed commissioner appointed by your city, village, or township, backed by county-level authority.
Michigan's Noxious Weed Act (Act 359 of 1941) defines noxious weeds β including Canada thistle, dodders, mustards, wild carrot, bindweed, perennial sowthistle, hoary alyssum, giant hogweed, common and giant ragweed, poison ivy, and poison sumac β and makes the landowner responsible for destroying them before they reach a seed-bearing stage. Each city, village, or township may appoint a commissioner of noxious weeds who inquires into infestations and can order abatement. This overlays the ordinary local grass/weed-height nuisance ordinances (see Grass Height). Kent County communities enforce it through their own code-compliance and weed-commissioner processes, with abatement costs charged back to the owner.
MCL 247.64: after 10 days' notice on subdivided or platted land, the local unit may destroy the weeds and assess the cost against the property; costs can become a lien collected with taxes.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids is not a designated wildland-urban interface community, but Michigan DNR burn permits and city outdoor burning rules still control vegetation fi...
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids follows the International Fire Code as adopted by Michigan, capping residential propane storage and requiring outdoor placement away from igniti...
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids has no municipal ordinance regulating residential lawn ornaments (statues, garden gnomes, pink flamingos, religious displays, flagpoles, decorat...
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids has no ordinance specifically regulating residential inflatable holiday decorations (lawn inflatables, blow-up Santas, animated displays). Const...
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids has no municipal ordinance setting a calendar window for displaying holiday lights, no rule prohibiting year-round residential lighting, and no ...
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids does not have a dedicated 'outdoor kitchen' permit category. Permanent outdoor kitchens with structural elements (built-in grill enclosures, mas...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Kent County.
See how Grand Rapids's weed ordinances rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.