Waynesville, MO Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 210.070, most recently amended by Ordinance No. 2064 on November 21, 2013, defines Weeds as vegetation other than cultivated gardens, crops, flowers, well-trimmed shrubs and trees, and includes grass, undergrowth, bushes and vines within that definition. The operative rule bars any owner, lessee or occupant in control of a vacant or occupied lot from letting weeds, grass or noxious vegetation grow past ten (10) inches on the average, and the limit also reaches the strip of ground between the property line and the curb along an adjacent sidewalk, street or alley, plus any excessive pile-up of dead weeds, grass, brush or downed limbs.

Enforcement runs through the City Official, defined in the section as the Mayor of Waynesville: on a complaint or personal knowledge of an overgrown lot, the Mayor must hold a hearing after giving the owner at least ten (10) days' notice, let the owner testify, and then issue a written determination on whether a violation exists. If the Mayor finds a violation, the order gives the owner five (5) days to abate the overgrowth; if it is not cut down within that window, the city can mow or clear the lot itself and certify the cost to the City Clerk, who prepares a special tax bill against the property.

That tax bill becomes a first lien on the real estate, must reach the City Collector by the first day of June of that year, falls due by the thirty-first day of December, and carries eight percent (8%) annual interest on any unpaid balance, so an unresolved mowing bill compounds every year it goes uncollected.