Garland County, AR Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Vacant and unimproved land in unincorporated Garland County is not automatically excused from the county's nuisance-property ordinance. Sec. 14-72 reaches 'the area around any building, property, or accessory apparatus' that becomes a hazardous, safety, environmental or health threat, and its enumerated violations, garbage and rubbish accumulations, more than three junked vehicles kept in the open, more than 30 stored tires, dumped white goods, unprotected building materials, and illegal waste disposal, apply whether or not a structure sits on the parcel. Garland County Code § 14-76 then narrows that reach for two categories of open land.

First, land 'valued as agricultural property that is being farmed or otherwise used for agricultural purposes' is outside the article entirely, so working farmland and pasture is not measured against the unsightly-conditions standard even if it carries old equipment or brush. Second, any parcel larger than ten acres is exempt, but only for conditions that are 'not visible from a public road or highway'; a violation on the same large parcel that can be seen from the road still falls under Sec. 14-72's normal notice-and-abatement process.

Everything else, a weedy town or subdivision lot, a smaller rural parcel, or the roadside portion of a larger tract, is treated exactly like a built lot: the county inspects, gives up to 30 days to correct after a first written notice under Sec. 14-74, escalates to a certified-mail second notice, and can cite the owner into district court seven days later if the lot is still not cleaned up. Fines run $50 to $5,000 per offense under Sec. 14-77, doubled for repeat violations, with a continuing daily penalty capped at $250.