Las Cruces, NM Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Sec. 18-1 of the Nuisances chapter defines weeds and rank vegetation as a plant or grass that is unintended, unmaintained, invasive, aggressively seeding, or a nuisance to public health, and names eight examples by scientific name: pigweed, Russian thistle, ragweed, puncture vine, wild mustard weed, kochia, silverleaf nightshade, and sand bur. Sec. 18-2 lists weeds and rank vegetation as item one on the code's enumeration of declared nuisances, alongside rubbish accumulation, vermin harborage, and dilapidated structures, and it is unlawful under Sec. 18-3 for any person to cause, permit, maintain or allow a nuisance to exist.

Enforcement runs through Sec. 18-4: for an ordinary weed nuisance, the city manager or a designated officer may issue a petty misdemeanor summons requiring the owner to appear in municipal court within five working days, while a major nuisance, defined as one that negatively affects public health and safety or draws police, fire, or rescue services, instead gets a seven-day written notice to abate. Sec. 18-5 requires that written notice to specify a reasonable abatement deadline, describe the violation, and advise the owner of the right to request a municipal court hearing before the deadline runs.

If the owner does not comply, Sec. 18-7 lets the city abate the nuisance itself and prepare a statement of costs, which Sec. 18-8 converts into a lien against the property that accrues interest at the legal rate until paid. A separate wind erosion provision, Sec. 32-302 of the Land Development Code, layers on additional weed-management rules specific to vacant and undeveloped parcels.