Gaston County, NC Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 7-8 of the county code lists the conditions that automatically count as a public nuisance on any parcel in the unincorporated area, and the very first one is overgrown vegetation: the uncontrolled growth of weeds, grass or noxious growth to a height of twelve inches or more within one hundred feet of any residential structure or any occupied nonresidential structure. The 100-foot proximity requirement matters because it ties the violation to an inhabited building nearby rather than banning tall grass on every acre of vacant land county-wide.

Enforcement runs through the nuisance administrator under section 7-9. Because weed and grass violations fall under section 7-8, subsection 1, the administrator gives the shorter of the code's two abatement windows: ten days from receipt of notice, versus fifteen days for the other listed nuisances such as odor-causing accumulations or stagnant water. S. 1A, Rule 4, or certified mail, and if the respondent's address cannot be found after due diligence, the county posts the notice conspicuously on the property itself. A property owner can request a hearing before the county manager or a designee any time before the abatement period runs out under section 7-10, which suspends the abatement order until the hearing, held within thirty-one calendar days of the request. S. 153A-140. An owner can also self-report and ask the county to mow under section 7-12.