Iowa City, IA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Iowa City's vacant-lot and overgrowth rule is one of the most specific in Iowa: every owner and person in possession or control of any developed or undeveloped lot or land area is responsible for keeping the lot - along with the parking strip adjacent to it and alleys/public ways/land areas up to the centerline of those ways - free of weeds and with grasses mowed to less than ten (10) inches in height. The rule is part of the Title 6, Chapter 1 public-nuisance framework (specifically the weed/grass nuisance subsection), and the substantive ten-inch cap is one of the clearest numeric thresholds in the city code. The provision also bars plant growth that makes streets, alleys, or public ways unsafe for travel or that impedes pedestrians or vehicles, so even grass under ten inches that overhangs a sidewalk can be cited as a separate obstruction nuisance. Enforcement runs year-round (not just during the growing season). The Department of Neighborhood and Development Services (319-356-5120) responds to complaints: an inspector visits, measures, and if the grass or weeds are ten inches or taller, posts a notice on the property and mails a Letter of Violation to the property owner of record (typically pulled from Johnson County Assessor records) with a 7-day cure window. On the eighth day the inspector returns; if not mowed, the City dispatches a contracted mowing service to cut the lot, and the property owner is billed for the actual contractor cost plus a $100 administrative fee. Unpaid charges are certified to Johnson County as a special assessment against the parcel under Iowa Code §364.12 and §384.84, collected through the property-tax process - the lien survives ownership transfer. The vacant-lot rule applies equally to occupied and vacant parcels and to land in any zone. Other vacant-lot nuisances (accumulated junk, inoperable vehicles, illegal dumping, dead trees) are enforced under the parallel Title 6, Chapter 1 enumerated-nuisance provisions. State authority: Iowa Code §364.12(3)(a)-(b); §364.22 (municipal infractions).