Portsmouth, VA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 23-26(a) of the Portsmouth City Code makes it unlawful, and a nuisance, for an owner or occupant to let grass or weeds grow past ten inches high within 300 feet of any building or road, or to let debris remain anywhere on the lot. Subsection (b) backs that with a presumption: weeds reaching ten inches or more are presumed detrimental to public health, rebuttable only by competent evidence to the contrary. Subsection (c) separately bars letting weeds or debris pile up in a quantity or condition that creates a fire hazard, and subsections (d) and (e) declare all weeds and all debris on land, alleys, sidewalks, and streets to be public nuisances that must be cut or removed whenever needed to abate them.

Enforcement runs through § 23-27: the director or a designee who finds overgrown grass or weeds must give the owner, occupant, or lienholder written notice ordering it cut and removed within a reasonable time set in the notice, capped at ten days; the code allows two notices per calendar year to count as reasonable notice for that entire year, so a later violation the same year needs no further warning before the city acts. If the owner doesn't comply, the city or its agent cuts and removes it at the owner's expense, and the city may keep maintaining the property for up to a year before requiring a fresh notice. 00 and 12 months in jail.