Long Branch, NJ Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

City of Long Branch Code § 125-1, part of Chapter 125, Brush, Grass and Weeds, adopted in 1971 and amended by Ordinance No. " Subsection A targets vegetation near roadways: brush, hedges or other plant life within 10 feet of any roadway and within 25 feet of a road intersection must be cut to no more than two and a half feet where necessary for public safety. Subsection B is the broader vacant-lot standard, reaching "brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, filth, garbage, trash and debris" wherever removal is necessary for public health, safety, general welfare, or to eliminate a fire hazard.

Enforcement runs through § 125-2: after a complaint or its own investigation, the Health Department, Code or Fire Prevention Bureau notifies the owner in writing to remove the violation within 10 days, then reinspects after that period. If the owner fails to abate within five days of that notice, § 125-3 lets the Health Department perform the removal itself and certify the cost to the City Council, which becomes a lien on the land collected the same way as property taxes, with interest at the tax rate, in addition to any separate penalty.