Ridgewood, NJ Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 223-59, amended January 12, 1993 by Ordinance No. 2392 and again October 9, 2024 by Ordinance No. 4017, is the Village of Ridgewood's operative weed control rule for every lot in the Village, Bergen County, occupied or vacant. " The section then defines "noxious weeds," poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac and ragweed, and prohibits them regardless of height, while defining ordinary "weeds" broadly as "all grasses, annual plants and vegetation other than trees or shrubs," expressly carving out cultivated flowers and gardens so ornamental beds are not swept in.

The 2024 amendment added Subsection B's tiered fine schedule, replacing what had been a flat penalty: $125 for a first offense, $250 for a second, and $350 for any third or later offense. Enforcement runs through the Director of Buildings and Inspections or Code Enforcement Officer under § 223-18, who can inspect the property and issue a written violation notice; the Village's Local Supplemental Violations Bureau Schedule also separately lists a $125 payable amount for a first tall-grass or weeds offense, matching § 223-59B's own figure.

The rule sits within Chapter 223's Article XI, Environmental Requirements, alongside the vacant-land maintenance duty of § 223-52C, so an unbuilt lot is held to the same 10-inch cap as a landscaped yard.