Berwyn, IL Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 1480.11 of the Berwyn Code of Ordinances, Vacant Land Maintenance, sets three duties for owners of unbuilt or cleared property. Division (A) starts a 60-day clock: property that remains undeveloped for longer than 60 days must be appropriately landscaped. The code defines that term as a minimum of grading to prevent water run-off on adjacent properties, four inches of topsoil, and grass or equivalent landscaping.

Division (B) covers lots where a structure has been demolished with no permits issued and no redevelopment applications provided. Those lots must be appropriately landscaped too. All pavement must be removed and replaced with appropriate landscaping, or maintained in a manner acceptable to the Director, who under § 1480.02 is the Building Director or a duly appointed designee. All fences must be removed after demolition and/or construction, and the code states flatly that no vacant land shall be fenced. Division (C) requires all utilities to be appropriately terminated and, if applicable, the building to be winterized.

Do not confuse this section with the lot standard for vacant buildings. Section 1480.10(A) applies to the lot a vacant building stands on and the surrounding public way. It requires grass and weeds on the premises, including abutting sidewalks, gutters and alleys, to be kept below eight inches in height, dead or broken trees, limbs or shrubbery to be cut and removed, litter kept off the premises, and water kept from accumulating or standing on the ground. Undeveloped land with no building falls under § 1480.11 and its landscaping test instead.

Every responsible party is jointly and severally liable for the chapter's obligations under § 1480.14, and the term covers owners, tenants, occupiers, property managers and lessees. Fees, costs and charges the city incurs become a lien on the real estate.