Scottsdale, AZ Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Sec. 18-9(a) requires every landowner and occupant to keep land free of blight, garbage, litter and debris, plant growth that encourages infestation, and specifically grass higher than six inches, poison oak, poison ivy, and weeds, or plant growth that is dead, dry, uncultivated or overgrown. Sec. 18-9(b) extends that same six-inch standard past the property line: owners must also keep the adjoining right-of-way clear, from the back of the curb or edge of pavement through their land to the centerline of any adjacent alley or right-of-way.

Sec. 18-9(c) layers on a parking-lot rule for businesses, requiring landscaped areas and parking lots around a business to stay free of grass over six inches, weeds, garbage, litter and debris. The code defines weed broadly at Sec. 18-2(45) to include bull thistle, cocklebur, foxtail, horseweed, lambs quarters, London rocket, mallow, milkweed, pigweed, mustards, prickly lettuce, ragweed, Russian thistle, tumbleweed, sowthistle, white horsenettle, willow weed and any plant the state lists as a noxious weed, regardless of whether the owner considers it desirable. Sec. 18-10 exempts natural desert from the plant-growth standard for land within public places, natural area open space set by the zoning ordinance, or state-owned land, so undisturbed desert landscaping does not trigger a violation.

Enforcement starts with an inspection and a written notice to abate under Sec. 18-70, which must give the owner at least 30 days to correct the violation, list the estimated abatement cost, and spell out the appeal procedure before the city can step in.