Concord, NC Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

City Code Sec. 30-161(a)(3) declares any vacant lot with grass, weeds, or other overgrowth vegetation over 12 inches in height to be a public nuisance, and requires the growth be cleared or cut to six inches or less to abate the violation. Sec. 30-161(a)(4) adds a mandatory mowing schedule that applies regardless of how tall the vegetation has grown: every vacant lot in Concord must be cut in its entirety not fewer than three times per year, with the first cutting no later than May 15, the second between May 15 and July 15, and the third between July 15 and October 15.

Lots that are 75 percent or more wooded are exempt from the three-cut schedule, though they still fall under the general overgrowth nuisance rule. When the code enforcement officer confirms a violation, the owner or person in possession gets written notice by both first-class and registered mail giving five days to correct it before the city considers further action. Owners who rack up three or more notices of violation in a calendar year are designated chronic violators under Sec. 30-161(b)(4) and can be cited again without further notice that year, with the abatement cost placed as a lien on the property.