Dearborn Heights, MI Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Sec. 33-51 applies to any lot or parcel of land in the City of Dearborn Heights, so a vacant, unimproved lot is covered exactly like a built lot: allowing Canada thistle, wild carrot, ragweed, poison ivy, poison sumac, or similar hay-fever-inducing vegetation to grow is unlawful and is declared a public nuisance, unless the land sits between the banks of a stream or watercourse or is used to grow a grain crop. The Building and Engineering Department enforces the chapter with a two-track notice system.

Sec. 33-53 requires a general newspaper notice published twice a year, in the first half of April and the first half of July, warning that weeds, grass, brush, or other unhealthy growth over 6 inches must be cut down. Sec. 33-54 adds a specific written notice, posted on the property and mailed first class to the assessed owner, giving 7 days to comply; an owner may appeal the notice or the estimated abatement charge within 3 calendar days by filing a form with the Building and Engineering Department, which must decide within 3 business days.

If the owner does not comply, Sec. 33-55 lets the city cut, spray, or otherwise abate the violation itself and bill the owner for the actual cost plus an administrative charge of $75 or 25 percent of the contractor's fee, whichever is more; an unpaid bill becomes a lien on the property under Chapter 12 of the City Charter. For an easement, abandoned subdivision, strip mine, gravel pit, or other vacant parcel whose ownership the city cannot establish, Sec. 33-55(d) refers enforcement to the Wayne County Board of Commissioners instead.