Lenexa, KS Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Lenexa defines a VACANT LOT in § 3-5-I-1 as any real property on which there is situated no residential or nonresidential structures. Section 3-5-A-2 applies the Environmental Code to vacant lots, and § 3-5-A-3 requires that land, whether occupied by structures or vacant, be maintained free of conditions that constitute health and safety hazards, encourage abuse and trespassing, or create a blighting effect in the neighborhood.

The weed rule itself is § 3-5-G-1. It puts the duty on the Property Owner or any other person occupying or having charge or control of any lot or parcel, and it reaches sidewalks, easements and rights-of-way out to the center line of the adjacent street or alley. The height test in § 3-5-I-7 sets eight inches for developed residential lots and twelve inches (12”) elsewhere throughout the City, which is the yardstick for a parcel with no structure. Weeds also include vegetation that creates a fire menace to adjacent improved property, harbors rats, insects or animals, or perpetuates disease. Noxious Weeds are tied to K.S.A. 2-1314 and also include poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac.

The Order to Abate under § 3-5-G-2 is served by certified mail at the address of record with the Johnson County Department of Records and Tax Administration, or by personal service, and gives ten (10) days to cut the growth. A written hearing request must reach the City within those ten days, and the hearing is held within seven (7) business days unless extended for good cause. After abatement the City sends a cost notice payable within thirty (30) days, then can file an affidavit of pending action with the county and certify the cost to the County Clerk as a special assessment. A new record owner cannot be charged unless given the required notice, and sellers must tell buyers in writing about active Orders. An undevelopable parcel of natural tall and mid-grasses can qualify for an exemption under § 3-5-G-3.