Sherman, TX Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Sherman Code of Ordinances § 6.05.001 treats occupied and unoccupied premises alike, so an empty lot gets no break from the twelve-inch limit. Under subsection (a), any owner, occupant or person in control of premises containing less than two acres commits an offense when weeds, grass or other vegetation on the premises grows taller than twelve inches. Subsection (b) handles the larger parcels: a lot of two acres or more is covered when it adjoins property under different ownership that contains habitable buildings, and the limit applies to the strip within one hundred feet of that adjacent property. The back of a big parcel is not reached by that subsection.

Subsection (d) makes the cutting a continuing duty, not a one-time cleanup. Whoever supervises or controls a lot, tract or parcel, or any portion of it, must cut and remove vegetation as often as necessary to comply. Subsection (e) extends the section to every railroad right-of-way in the city.

The enforcement path sits in § 6.05.004. No notice of violation is required before a citation issues for § 6.05.001. Before the city enters a lot to mow or to lien the property, it must send written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner's address on the county tax rolls. If no viable address exists, the city posts the notice on or near the front door of each building or, when the lot has no buildings, on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground, with letters 2-1/2" high in bold type stating "NOTICE". The first notice gives the owner ten days to correct the problem. After that the city can mow, fill, drain or level and charge the owner, including an administrative fee of eighty dollars. A second violation within twelve months triggers a notice that gives the city a continuing right of entry for the next twelve consecutive months without further notice.