Hammond, IN Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

090(A) makes it unlawful for any person, business or organization to 'permit, suffer or allow any vegetation of any kind whatsoever to be, remain, or grow to a height above 6 inches from the ground on any improved or unimproved real property within the city,' expressly covering vacant lots, and the provision also reaches agricultural crops within 30 feet of any lot line, while exempting maintained flowers and cultivated plants that do not obstruct traffic visibility. 090(B) separately declares dead or dying trees, limbs, branches or stumps on any improved or unimproved property a nuisance if they threaten a road, sidewalk, dwelling or neighboring structure.

091: an Inspections Department employee, a Police Department Community Affairs officer, or another city-designated individual identifies the owner from Lake County Auditor records and mails written notice describing the violation, the date, the Inspections Department phone number, and a 10-day warning that the city will abate the nuisance and recover its costs if the owner does not act; the department may also post the notice on the property. A notice of violation can be appealed to the Board of Public Works and Safety within 7 calendar days, which tolls the 10-day abatement clock pending a decision.

091(C) deems the owner to have granted the city or its contractors permission to enter and cut, trim or remove the offending vegetation, or the city may instead seek a court injunction. 091(E) lets the city bill the owner for its abatement costs.