Novi, MI Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 21-19 bars letting weeds, grass, including grass grown as ground cover, brush or other deleterious growth exceed eight inches above ground on occupied or unoccupied subdivided land, condominium developments including site condominiums, or any other lot occupied by a structure, and on the road right-of-way next to it; any such growth is a public nuisance. Section 21-18 sets the cutting schedule that Section 21-19 cross-references: property owners, occupants or managers must cut noxious weeds at least twice each year, once in the last half of May and again in the last half of July, or more often if needed to keep them from going to seed.

Section 21-20 requires the building official or ordinance enforcement officer to publish a general newspaper notice twice a year reminding owners of the eight-inch limit, and Section 21-21 requires a follow-up first-class mailed notice giving an owner ten days to cut before the city acts. If the owner still does not comply, Section 21-22 authorizes the building official to enter the property and cut, spray or otherwise abate the growth, and Section 21-23 lets the city bill the owner for the actual cost of that work plus a council-set administration charge; an unpaid bill becomes a lien collected like delinquent property taxes.

Section 21-19(a) specifically exempts landscaping beds or similarly defined areas that are otherwise properly maintained and tended, and floodplain and grain-field land is excluded under the related Section 21-22(b). Community Development's code enforcement staff and the building official administer this program.