Monroe Township (Gloucester County), NJ Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 162-4 of the Monroe Township Code sits in Chapter 162, Housing Standards, and it puts the weed and grass rule on the owner, operator and registered agent of the property. Subsection C holds the number: the front, side and back yards, driveways, walks and other outside parts of any building's premises, and any lot on which no building is located, cannot carry grass or weeds that attain a growth of more than 10 inches. The same limit applies to built lots and empty lots alike.

Subsection A(1) adds a broader hazard duty. The exterior of the premises and all structures on it must stay free of nuisances and unsanitary conditions, and the code calls it the absolute duty of the owner, operator and/or registered agent, individually or jointly, to keep the premises free of hazards. The first hazard listed is refuse, defined in that subsection to include brush, weeds, broken glass, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash and debris.

Subsection A(1)(e) is the second printed height figure. Any and all brush, hedges and similar plant life growing within 10 feet of any roadway, or within 25 feet of the intersection of two roadways, must be cut to a height of not more than 2 1/2 feet. That rule stands next to the 10 inch cap and does not replace it.

Subsection A(2)(d) covers landscaping seen from the street. Premises must be kept landscaped, and lawns, hedges and brushes must be kept trimmed and from becoming overgrown and unsightly where exposed to public view and where they constitute a negative impact depreciating adjoining property. Shrubs and flowering woody plants cannot be allowed to grow beyond the boundaries of the premises on which a building is located.

Chapter 104 repeats the point for premises with buildings in § 104-7(A), which also lists weeds among exterior hazards. Under § 162-8 the Director of Code Enforcement/Community Development and the Construction Official of the Township of Monroe enforce the chapter, and the Director appoints the Housing Officer and/or Code Enforcement Officer who carry out inspections.