Georgetown, KY Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Georgetown has no separate vacant-lot weed ordinance. The rules sit in § 8-165, which amends the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code adopted in § 8-164, and they reach vacant ground in two ways.

The first is the Weeds section, IPMC § 302.4 as substituted by the city. Section 302.4 B declares untended, rank and unmanaged growth of vegetation on any property within the city, visible from any public way, street, sidewalk or alley or from any adjoining property, a public nuisance that is prohibited and subject to abatement. The definition in § 302.4 A makes vegetation exceeding ten inches in height a violation, so an unmowed vacant lot is measured against the same ten-inch trigger as an occupied yard. Vegetation that qualifies as managed vegetation is not subject to the ten inches height restriction. Under § 302.4 E the section applies to all property within the city limits and is to be proactively and uniformly enforced.

The second is § 302.2.1, which covers each individual lot in an approved subdivision that has final plat approval but no building permit. Until a building permit is obtained for construction on the lot, the soil stabilization required for final plat approval and the erosion and sediment control measures required under the subdivision regulations must be maintained. If no permit is ever obtained, § 302.2.1.3 keeps those measures in place until vegetation is sufficient to eliminate erosion and sediment creation, and the office of building inspection certifies compliance in writing. That certification signifies only that the premises were compliant at the time of the inspection and does not satisfy the requirement of continuing compliance. Undisturbed lots need no special measures where vegetation is sufficient, while lots disturbed enough to create a substantial risk of erosion must meet City of Georgetown Ordinance No. 2002-002.

Section 302.4 F protects developers and owners of several lots: a violation existing upon multiple vacant properties of common ownership in a subdivision platted for development is a single violation.