Tuscaloosa, AL Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Sec. 13-67 makes it unlawful for any owner, resident, or person having charge or control of premises or a vacant lot to let weeds, grass or kudzu grow past 12 inches, to plant or allow bamboo within 50 feet of a residential property line, right-of-way or utility easement, or to let vines, underbrush, downed trees or limbs become overgrown enough to favor mosquitoes, insects, rodents or reptiles, or otherwise become a public nuisance or health/safety danger. The section explicitly states that no notice is required to constitute a violation, meaning the 12-inch overgrowth itself is the offense regardless of whether the city warned the owner first.

Once a citation, summons or notice issues, Sec. 13-68 gives the owner 48 hours to cut the vegetation, remove bamboo, or clear downed trees and limbs; if the deadline passes, the city can do the work itself and place a lien on the property for the cost, collectible like any debt. Bamboo removal under Sec. 13-68(b) must include cutting to ground level, removing the cut bamboo, removing rhizomes, and poisoning or cutting regrowth until the rhizomes are eliminated. Sec. 13-68(d) escalates repeat offenders: a third unlawful-growth violation on the same property within a calendar year triggers a mandatory citation or summons to Municipal Court rather than a warning.