In unincorporated Sedgwick County, the county Nuisance Code (Chapter 19) governs blight: junk vehicles, trash, tall grass, salvage material, and open or abandoned structures. Code Enforcement responds to complaints and can order abatement. Inside Wichita and other cities, the city code applies instead.
Sedgwick County's Land Use / Code Enforcement division enforces the Sedgwick County Nuisance Code (Chapter 19) plus the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code across the unincorporated area. Typical blight complaints cover inoperable vehicles, accumulated trash, tall grass and weeds, scattered salvage material, and open, abandoned or dilapidated structures. The county allows outdoor storage of up to nine inoperable vehicles (or parts equal to nine vehicles), but in unincorporated areas they must be screened from ground-level view. Grass may not exceed 18 inches. If an owner fails to correct a documented nuisance, the county may abate it and assess the cost against the property.
Cited under Chapter 19; county may order abatement, perform the cleanup and assess costs to the owner, or pursue injunctive relief and other legal remedies.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Sedgwick County does not prohibit backyard composting of yard and food waste. Compost must be managed so it does not become an odor, vermin, or nuisance prob...
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Sedgwick County has no ordinance banning artificial turf on residential yards in unincorporated areas. Installation is generally treated as landscaping. Zoni...
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Sedgwick County does not prohibit native prairie plants or pollinator gardens, but any vegetation must stay under the Chapter 19 nuisance height (18 inches) ...
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Rainwater collection is legal in Kansas. Sedgwick County has no ordinance banning rain barrels. Rooftop capture for domestic, garden, and livestock use is al...
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Sedgwick County sets no county-wide lawn-watering schedule. If you get water from the City of Wichita, a permanent 3-day odd/even watering schedule applies. ...
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Sedgwick County's Chapter 19 Nuisance Code makes grass or rank vegetation over 18 inches on unincorporated property a nuisance. Separately, Kansas Noxious We...
See how Sedgwick County's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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