Manatee County, FL Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

The Manatee County Code defines "overgrowth/overgrown" in Sec. 2-9-103(a)(40) as "lawn, grass, vegetation or weeds exceeding sixteen (16) inches in height." Sec. 2-9-105(c), part of the county's Property Maintenance and Structural Standards article (Ch. 2-9, Art. VI, adopted by Ord. No. 15-10 on April 2, 2015, and amended by Ord. Nos. 20-041 and 20-46), states that "overgrowth of weeds/vegetation or noxious plants" is one of the conditions "prohibited" on property that must be kept "clean, safe, secure, and sanitary." The rule reaches every residential and nonresidential lot in the unincorporated area, and the administrative official designated by the county administrator, along with code enforcement officers, may inspect property at reasonable times to check compliance.

A second, older instrument covers similar ground from a different angle: the Lot Clearing Procedures Act, a special act of the Florida Legislature (Laws of Fla., Ch. 82-321, Sections 1 through 7, 1982) codified at Code Sec. 1-19-21 through Sec. 1-19-27, not a county ordinance. It lets the Manatee County Planning and Development Department act on a written complaint from anyone living within two hundred feet of an overgrown lot, from a fire control district, or on its own initiative. The department sends the owner a registered-mail notice to cut, clear or remove the weeds, brush or debris; if the owner does not comply within fifteen days, the department can clear the land itself by private contract and record a lien against the property for the actual clearing cost. Sec. 2-9-109(e) cross-references this act for "the mowing and clearing of improved and unimproved lands."