Lakewood, CO Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 9.80.020(A)(4) makes it unlawful to permit the growth of weeds or grass in excess of six inches upon a tract or lot occupied by a habitable structure, or 12 inches upon a tract or lot without a habitable structure or in irrigation and drainage ditches. The section then carves out an exception for undeveloped vacant or open-space land: where the species composition is such that the site is at least two-thirds covered with a pure or mixed stand of acceptable cover and desirable plant species as defined in Section 9.80.010, and does not result in a safety hazard such as limited sight distance, the vegetation is exempt from the height limitations with a permit. Section 9.80.010 defines 'Acceptable cover' as desirable species covering two-thirds of the vegetated area, and lists dozens of qualifying grasses (bluegrass, fescue, buffalograss, wheatgrass and more) and forbs and shrubs (antelope bitterbrush, chokecherry, kinnikinnick, mountain mahogany and others) as 'Desirable plant species.'

An owner seeking the taller exemption on an undeveloped lot must apply to the Department of Community Resources; approval turns on the density and type of species covering the property. Even with a permit, the code still requires a ten-foot perimeter strip kept to 12 inches or less wherever the exempt property sits next to a street, sidewalk, alley or a lot with a habitable structure. The height rule does not apply at all to flower, xeriscape or vegetable gardens, shrubbery plots, grain plots, feed and forage pastures, city-owned parks and open space, slope-stabilization or erosion-control plantings, or any city or private tract managed as xeriscape, per the exemption text immediately following § 9.80.020(A)(4).