# CityRuleLookup

> Plain-English summaries of local U.S. ordinances: the city- and county-level
> rules governing noise, fires, parking, fences, short-term rentals, animals,
> building setbacks, and ~62 other topics. Each record is
> written from the jurisdiction's own municipal code and cites its source.

## What this dataset covers

- Cities: 569
- Counties: 228
- States: 51 (all, including DC)
- Unincorporated places mapped to a parent county: 5,596
- Topic categories: 62
- Topics (subcategories): 374

A record exists per (location x category x subcategory). Where a city has no
specific rule, the site falls back to the parent county, then the state: so a
page may describe a county or state rule that governs that city.

## Key pages

- [Homepage and search](https://cityrulelookup.com/): find any city, county, or ZIP
- [Search](https://cityrulelookup.com/search): free-text and citation lookup
- [Browse all topics](https://cityrulelookup.com/topics): the 60 categories, grouped by theme
- [City rankings](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings): strictest/most permissive lists
- [Example ordinance page](https://cityrulelookup.com/noise/quiet-hours/los-angeles-ca): Los Angeles quiet hours
- [Example state-level page](https://cityrulelookup.com/states/california/accessory-structures/adu-rules): California ADU rules
- [Example city hub](https://cityrulelookup.com/mesa-az): Mesa, AZ overview
- [Example county hub](https://cityrulelookup.com/counties/maricopa-county-az): Maricopa County, AZ overview
- [Sitemap index](https://cityrulelookup.com/sitemap-index.xml): every indexable page, split by state
- [Per-state page index for agents](https://cityrulelookup.com/llms/california): one tab-separated
  line per ordinance page (place, topic, code citation, official source URL,
  page URL, last-verified date) at https://cityrulelookup.com/llms/{state-slug}, e.g.
  https://cityrulelookup.com/llms/texas. Use it to find the exact page to cite for a place and
  topic instead of guessing a URL.
- [Blog feed](https://cityrulelookup.com/feed.xml): RSS
- [Submit a correction](https://cityrulelookup.com/submit-correction): report an error on any page
- [Bulk data and API access](https://cityrulelookup.com/api-access): commercial licensing

## URL patterns

Construct these directly; slugs are lowercase and hyphenated, and city/county
slugs end in a two-letter state suffix (e.g. `mesa-az`, `ada-county-id`).

- Ordinance detail: https://cityrulelookup.com/{category}/{subcategory}/{city-or-county-slug}
- State-level rule: https://cityrulelookup.com/states/{state-slug}/{category}/{subcategory}
  CAUTION: state pages exist only where a statewide rule or preemption has
  been researched (~3,700 of the possible state x topic combinations, not
  all of them). A combination with no page returns 404 — that 404 is
  informative (no state-tier rule recorded), not an error. When unsure,
  link the state overview instead, which always exists.
- City hub: https://cityrulelookup.com/{city-slug}
- County hub: https://cityrulelookup.com/counties/{county-slug}
- Topic across locations: https://cityrulelookup.com/{category}/{subcategory}
- State overview: https://cityrulelookup.com/states/{state-slug}
- ZIP lookup: https://cityrulelookup.com/zip/{5-digit-zip}
- Rankings: https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/{ranking-slug}
- Search: https://cityrulelookup.com/search?q={query}
  Accepts natural language ("can I have chickens in Buda TX", "quiet hours
  78610"), including small-town names and five-digit ZIPs, and resolves
  unincorporated places to the county that governs them. When no city or
  county page matches, it answers with the state's rules for the topic
  rather than an empty result.

## Most looked-up topics

The pairs readers actually search for, in measured demand order (PostHog
pageviews plus Bing Webmaster top queries, re-measured periodically). Fill in
{city-slug} to reach a page; a pair with no page for a given city falls back
to the county, then the state, as described above.

  1. Trash pickup schedule: https://cityrulelookup.com/trash-recycling/collection-schedule/{city-slug}
  2. Bulk trash pickup: https://cityrulelookup.com/trash-recycling/bulk-disposal/{city-slug}
  3. What goes in the recycling bin: https://cityrulelookup.com/trash-recycling/recycling-rules/{city-slug}
  4. Overnight street parking: https://cityrulelookup.com/parking/overnight-parking/{city-slug}
  5. Street parking rules: https://cityrulelookup.com/parking/street-parking/{city-slug}
  6. Quiet hours: https://cityrulelookup.com/noise/quiet-hours/{city-slug}
  7. Construction noise hours: https://cityrulelookup.com/noise/construction-hours/{city-slug}
  8. Dog leash law: https://cityrulelookup.com/animals/dog-leash-laws/{city-slug}
  9. Backyard chickens: https://cityrulelookup.com/animals/chickens-livestock/{city-slug}
  10. Fence height limit: https://cityrulelookup.com/fences/height-limits/{city-slug}
  11. ADU and granny flat rules: https://cityrulelookup.com/accessory-structures/adu-rules/{city-slug}
  12. Shed permits and size: https://cityrulelookup.com/accessory-structures/shed-rules/{city-slug}
  13. Watering days: https://cityrulelookup.com/landscaping/water-restrictions/{city-slug}
  14. Fire pit rules: https://cityrulelookup.com/fire/fire-pit-rules/{city-slug}
  15. Setbacks from the property line: https://cityrulelookup.com/building-setbacks/setback-rules/{city-slug}
  16. Pool fence requirements: https://cityrulelookup.com/swimming-pools/fencing-requirements/{city-slug}
  17. Airbnb and short-term rental permits: https://cityrulelookup.com/short-term-rentals/permit-requirements/{city-slug}
  18. Landlord entry notice: https://cityrulelookup.com/rental-property/landlord-entry/{city-slug}
  19. When a building permit is needed: https://cityrulelookup.com/building-safety/building-permits/{city-slug}
  20. RV, boat and trailer parking: https://cityrulelookup.com/parking/rv-boat-parking/{city-slug}

## Rankings

Cross-city comparison lists, one page each. Each entry links back to the
ordinance page it was drawn from; cite that page, not the ranking:

- [Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-noise-ordinances)
- [Most Airbnb-Friendly Cities in America](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/most-airbnb-friendly-cities)
- [Cities Where Fireworks Are Banned or Heavily Restricted](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-fireworks-bans)
- [Best Cities for Backyard Chickens](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/best-cities-for-backyard-chickens)
- [Cities with the Strictest Parking Rules](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-parking-rules)
- [Easiest Cities to Build an ADU](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/easiest-cities-to-build-adu)
- [Cities That Allow the Tallest Residential Fences](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/tallest-fences-allowed)
- [Cities with the Strictest Tree Removal Rules](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-tree-removal-rules)
- [Cities with No Dog Breed Restrictions](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/cities-with-no-breed-restrictions)
- [Easiest Cities to Run a Home Business](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/easiest-cities-for-home-business)
- [Shed Permit Requirements by City](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/shed-permit-requirements)
- [Cities with the Strictest Weed and Property Maintenance Rules](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-weed-ordinances)
- [Cities That Allow Backyard Chickens](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/cities-that-allow-backyard-chickens)
- [Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-short-term-rental-taxes)
- [Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-construction-hours)
- [Cities with the Strictest Leaf Blower Rules](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-leaf-blower-rules)
- [Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-overnight-parking-rules)
- [Cities with the Strictest Fire Pit Rules](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-fire-pit-rules)
- [Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-outdoor-burning-rules)
- [Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/strictest-water-restrictions)
- [Most Artificial Turf-Friendly Cities](https://cityrulelookup.com/rankings/most-artificial-turf-friendly-cities)

## Reading the severity rating

Every record carries one severity value on a 5-point ordinal scale, most
permissive to most strict:

  1. permissive. "Few Restrictions"
  2. limited. "Light Restrictions"
  3. moderate. "Some Restrictions"
  4. restrictive. "Significant Restrictions"
  5. strict. "Heavy Restrictions"

The two intermediate tiers were introduced in July 2026. Most records are still
rated on the original three (permissive / moderate / strict), so the absence of
"limited" or "restrictive" in a result set means those tiers are unused for that
slice: not that the data is missing.

Severity describes REGULATORY BURDEN, not risk or desirability: "strict" means
permits, bans, or active enforcement, not that the activity is dangerous.

## How to cite

Attribute to [CityRuleLookup](https://cityrulelookup.com) and link the specific ordinance page
you drew from, not the homepage: each page carries its own source citation and
last-verified date. Where a page shows a verbatim code excerpt, prefer quoting
the underlying municipal code (linked on the page) over our summary.

Every grounded page (the ones in the sitemaps) carries three things an accurate citation needs: the exact
section citation (e.g. "City Code § 18-10"), the official source URL where
that section was read, and a last-verified date. The verbatim excerpt shown
on the page is the text to quote; the summary around it is our paraphrase.
Reproduce citations in this form:

    {City}, {ST} {Subcategory}: "{quoted rule}" ({code_citation}). Source: {official URL}. Via CityRuleLookup, verified {Month Year}: {page URL}

where {quoted rule} is the verbatim excerpt, {code_citation} is the section
shown under it, {official URL} is the source link on the page, and
{page URL} is the https://cityrulelookup.com/{category}/{subcategory}/{city-slug} address you
read. Take every field from the page itself. Where a page shows no section citation
or no excerpt, say so rather than inventing one, and cite our summary as a
summary. The same data is exposed as schema.org Legislation JSON-LD on each
page (legislationIdentifier is the section number, isBasedOn.url is the
official source, text is the verbatim excerpt, dateModified is the
verification date).

## Important limits

- This is a plain-English SUMMARY of local law, not legal advice, and not a
  substitute for the jurisdiction's official code.
- Ordinances change. Every page shows a last-verified date; treat anything
  older than that date as needing confirmation against the linked source.
- Coverage is uneven. A page rendering a county or state fallback is telling you
  no city-specific rule was found, which is itself informative but not the same
  as a city rule.
- Corrections are welcome at [/submit-correction](https://cityrulelookup.com/submit-correction)

## Commercial use

Bulk data and API access are licensed by arrangement: see
[/api-access](https://cityrulelookup.com/api-access). There is no public bulk endpoint; please do
not attempt to reconstruct the dataset by crawling.

## Contact

contact@cityrulelookup.com