James City County, VA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Sec. 10-4(b) of the garbage and refuse chapter puts the duty on every owner of occupied or vacant, developed or undeveloped property, including land with buildings or other improvements, inside platted subdivisions and areas zoned residential, business, commercial or industrial, to cut grass, weeds, running bamboo and other foreign growth as often as needed to prevent it becoming a breeding or harboring place for insects, reptiles and rodents, or another hazard or nuisance; the duty does not apply to land zoned for or actively farmed.

If a resident complains, Sec. 10-5 lets the county administrator or a designee investigate and, on finding a violation, issue a notice giving the owner up to ten days to cut the growth. If the owner still has not complied ten days after that notice, the county can send its own crew to cut the grass, weeds or bamboo, bill the owner for every dollar it costs, and, if unpaid, collect the charge the way real estate taxes are collected or record it as a lien against the property. 2-901, which lets counties order the removal of trash, garbage and weeds.