North Hempstead, NY Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

This weed-height cap is part of the Article III property maintenance standards in Chapter 28, the Town's Housing, Rehabilitation and Property Maintenance Code, and applies to all premises in North Hempstead outside its incorporated villages. Section 28-22A(5) sets the 10-inch ceiling on weeds or plant growth on a lot and its immediate exterior, and separately prohibits noxious weeds regardless of height. A related provision, § 28-22A(7), requires the adjoining property owner to maintain the unpaved strip of public right-of-way between the road pavement and the property line, including cutting weeds there to less than four inches (trees, bushes, and shrubs excepted), on top of the requirements of Chapter 48.

Enforcement follows the same Article VI process as other maintenance violations: the Enforcement Officer serves a written notice of violation under § 28-35 giving the owner 5 to 45 days to cut the growth, and if the owner ignores it, § 28-37 authorizes a five-day written directive followed by the Town cutting the lot itself and billing the owner, with unpaid costs becoming a lien collectable like any other Town charge. Because it is not necessary to issue a fresh notice of violation for a second offense within twelve months under § 28-37G, a property with a prior overgrowth violation in the past year can be issued an appearance ticket immediately on a repeat inspection.