Rapides Parish, LA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 13-19(a) gives the Police Jury authority to cut, destroy, or remove obnoxious weeds and grass on property located within recognized subdivisions outside the parish's municipalities and to assess the cost against the owner, and the section expressly states this authority applies regardless of whether a structure is located on the property, reaching bare, unimproved and vacant lots the same as built lots. Section 13-19(b) extends the same authority to any property within two hundred feet of a recognized subdivision, even if that parcel sits outside the subdivision's own boundary.

Before acting, Section 13-20 requires the parish to give the owner written notice by registered or certified mail and fifteen days to clear the growth themselves; an owner who is absent from the state can instead be served through an attorney appointed by the Police Jury president. Once the parish (or its contractor) completes the cutting, Section 13-23 turns the cost into a lien against the property that outranks mortgages, vendor's privileges, and other liens except tax liens. Section 13-24 requires the secretary-treasurer to file a sworn affidavit of the costs with the clerk of court to record that lien, and Section 13-25 folds the charge into the parcel's annual ad valorem tax bill unless the owner pays it off directly first.