Coconut Creek, FL Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Article III of Chapter 14 (Lot Clearing) has no exemption for empty land. Section 14-42(a) applies to "any parcel of land" owned, leased or otherwise in the possession of the owner or tenant, so a vacant lot carries the same duty as a house lot. It prohibits accumulations of litter, garbage, rubbish, junk, debris or refuse. Section 14-41 defines an accumulation as one or more articles of litter or garbage, so a single item counts. Rubbish means vegetative matter from landscaping or land clearing, such as tree and shrub trimmings, grass clippings, palm fronds, limbs and stumps. Section 14-42(b) adds excessive accumulations or untended growth of weeds, undergrowth and other living or dead plant life. Section 14-42(d) covers collections of stagnant water, defined as any body of water lacking flow or circulation, regardless of size. For undeveloped areas without structures, the untended vegetation height trigger is twenty-four inches.

The responsibility reaches past the lot line into the public right-of-way, between the front plot line and the centerline and between the extensions of the side plot lines. The Coconut Creek Code declares these conditions public nuisances under § 14-42(f).

If the owner does not act, the city abates the condition and recovers its cost. The expense is certified to the finance director and is payable within thirty days. After that it becomes a lien with a $25 recording fee and 12 percent annual interest, or the city commission can levy a non-ad valorem assessment under §§ 14-48 and 14-49. The commission approves the assessment roll at a public hearing each year between January 1 and September 15, and an owner has twenty days from the date of the notice to file written objections. An unpaid assessment can lead to a tax certificate, bearing interest as high as 18 percent, and eventually a tax deed.