Stafford Township, NJ Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Stafford Township sets a numeric plant height limit through its property maintenance chapter. Section 158-1 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code 2021 as determined by the Construction Official or the Zoning Officer, and § 158-1.1B rewrites Section 302.4: all premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 10 inches (254 mm), and noxious weeds shall be prohibited. For this rule, weeds means all grasses, annual plants and vegetation other than trees or shrubs, and the definition excludes cultivated flowers and gardens. The text covers premises and exterior property without limiting itself to lots with a house on them, so a lawn, a side yard or a vacant parcel is measured against the same 10-inch line.

Chapter 68, Brush, Grass and Weeds, adds a notice-and-cleanup track. Where it is necessary and expedient for the preservation of the public health, safety, general welfare or to eliminate a fire hazard, § 68-2A requires an owner or tenant of real property to remove brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash and debris within 10 days after notice from the designated official of the Township. If the owner or tenant does not comply, § 68-3 gives the Township the right to provide for the removal by or under the direction of an officer of the municipality. Under § 68-4 that officer certifies the cost to the governing body, which charges it against the property as a lien added to the next taxes, bearing interest at the same rate as other taxes and collected by the Tax Collector under N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.27. In Chapter 68, person includes any owner or tenant of the subject property.