Rapides Parish, LA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 13-21 sets the trigger for parish weed-cutting enforcement in subdivisions outside municipalities: the Police Jury may never cut and remove obnoxious weeds and grass without first giving prior notice, and only once the growth has reached a height of eight inches above the ground. A photograph documenting that height is taken and kept as the basis for later charging the cost against the property. Section 13-20 spells out the notice mechanics behind that trigger: written notice by registered or certified mail (or an appointed attorney if the owner is out of state) gives the owner fifteen days from receipt to cut the growth themselves before the parish acts.

Once the parish does the cutting with its own crews, Section 13-22 sets the billing rate at four and one-half cents per square foot mowed, plus twenty-five cents per mile of transportation cost, on top of advertising and photography costs; a private contractor's invoiced rate applies instead when the parish uses one. This authority reaches property within recognized subdivisions and, under Section 13-19(a), applies regardless of whether a structure sits on the lot, plus any property within two hundred feet of a recognized subdivision under Section 13-19(b).