Millcreek, PA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Millcreek Township's weed rule is Property Maintenance Code Section 302.4, as amended in § 29-78T of the Township Code. All premises and exterior property must be maintained free from weeds and plant growth in excess of eight inches, and all noxious weeds are prohibited outright. The code defines weeds as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation other than trees or shrubs, and says the term does not include cultivated flowers and gardens. Grass is the main thing the limit reaches, since the definition covers all grasses, while a tended flower bed or garden is outside it.

The process starts with a notice of violation. An owner or agent having charge of a property who fails to cut and destroy the weeds after service of that notice is subject to prosecution under Section 106.3 and Chapter 48, Article I, Ordinance Enforcement. Section 106.3 makes a violation a summary criminal offense and a strict liability offense, and it lets the code official seek fines even if the violator complies with the notice. If the owner still does not comply, any duly authorized employee or contractor of the Township can enter the property, cut and destroy the weeds, and the owner or agent pays the cost. Under Section 106.3, action the Township takes on the premises after notice is charged against the real estate and becomes a lien on it.

The warning is a one-time courtesy. Only one enforcement notice is issued to a violator per calendar year, and after that a citation is issued directly with no warning required. Each day a violation occurs or continues is a separate violation under Section 106.6. Notices are served under Section 107.3: personal delivery, certified mail to the last known address, posting plus first-class mail if the letter is returned, or posting on the main entrance plus publication when the owner cannot be found.

Cut material has its own rule. Leaf waste is defined in § 29-78S to include leaves, garden residue, shrubbery, tree trimmings and similar material, but not grass clippings, and Chapter 110 governs how waste is set out for collection.