Jackson County, MS Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 4.06.04
- Trigger
- Official hazard finding, no fixed height
- Who decides
- Planning Director or health official
- Scope
- Applies within any zoning district
- First-offense fine
- Up to $500
- Continuing fine
- $100 per day
Summary
Jackson County requires weeds and other growth to be cut whenever a county official or health officer decides an uncut lot has become a menace to public health or safety, the same standard that reaches junk, rubbish and inoperable vehicles left in the open.
No rubbish, salvage materials, junk or hazardous waste materials, including inoperable vehicles and parts and any combustible matter, shall be openly stored, allowed to accumulate or kept in the open, and no weeds or other growth shall be allowed to go uncut within any district when the same shall be determined by the appropriate County Official (the Planning Director or other authorized County employee) or health official to constitute a menace to the public health and/or safety.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
04 of the Jackson County Zoning Ordinance, titled "Materials and Growth Constituting Public Health and/or Safety Hazards Prohibited," bars two things in the same sentence: open storage or accumulation of rubbish, salvage materials, junk or hazardous waste (including inoperable vehicles and parts) and any combustible matter, and letting weeds or other growth go uncut. " There is no fixed inch-height trigger written into the ordinance; the standard is a hazard finding rather than a mowed-lawn checklist, and it applies uniformly "within any district," so it is not limited to residential zones.
Once a county or health official makes that finding, the property owner is expected to cut the growth or clear the material. 5: a knowing, willful failure to correct the condition is a misdemeanor with a fine up to $500, and the county can pursue continuing daily fines of $100 until compliance, plus nuisance abatement. The Planning Department, headquartered at 2915 Canty Street in Pascagoula, is the office that fields overgrowth complaints for the unincorporated county.
Violations & Fines
Growth or accumulated debris found by the Planning Director, an authorized county employee, or a health official to be a public health or safety menace must be cut or cleared. A willful violation is a misdemeanor under Section 9.5: up to $500, plus $100 per day for a continuing violation after conviction; the county may also abate it as a nuisance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a specific grass height limit in unincorporated Jackson County?
Does the overgrowth rule only cover weeds?
What is the penalty for ignoring a cut-back order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jackson County
How Jackson County compares: Cities with the Strictest Weed and Property Maintenance Rules·Compare Jackson County to another location·View the Mississippi landscaping rules overview
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