Tacoma, WA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- TMC § 8.30.040.C.2
- Applies to
- undeveloped parcels over one acre
- Required clearing
- 20-ft buffer, abutting improved land
- Purpose
- eliminate wildfire hazard
Summary
Owners of undeveloped Tacoma parcels over one acre can satisfy the city's overgrown-vegetation nuisance rule by clearing only a 20-foot buffer along abutting improved property and rights-of-way instead of the whole lot.
Where a single parcel is undeveloped and over one acre in area, elimination of the fire hazard presented by vegetation may be accomplished by removing the vegetation from the area within 20 feet of abutting, improved properties or public rights-of-way.
3. Inappropriate disposal or accumulation of vegetation waste, including, but not limited to, grass clippings, cut brush, cut trees, cut weeds, and/or cut wood, except as contained in a compost pile not to exceed two cubic yards, or orderly stacked fire wood, if cut in lengths of four feet or less.
4. Any poisonous or hazardous material or thing on any real estate, so as to allow access to it by any animal or person.
5. Storing of flammable material on any real estate, including but not limited to old rags, rope, cordage, rubber, boxes, or paper, by properly licensed persons or businesses trading in such articles, unless it is in a building of fireproof construction.
6. Storing outside a completely enclosed building items that constitute a threat to the public health, safety or welfare, including but not limited to the following: scrap rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber debris, tires, waste, used lumber or salvaged wood, machinery or appliances or parts of such machinery, vehicular component parts, iron, steel, household goods or hardware, medications, medical supplies, or medical devices.
7.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4946110; v22 updated 2026-07-28).
Full Breakdown
Tacoma Municipal Code § 8.30.040.C.2 generally treats overgrown grass, weeds, and brush as a public nuisance citywide, but it carves out a specific rule for large vacant land: where a single parcel is undeveloped and over one acre, the owner can eliminate the fire hazard by clearing vegetation only within 20 feet of abutting improved properties or public rights-of-way, rather than mowing the entire parcel. This narrower standard recognizes that clearing a full acre-plus of raw land isn't practical, while still requiring a defensible buffer against fire spreading onto neighboring developed property or the street. Parcels under an acre, or already developed, fall under the general one-foot vegetation-height nuisance standard instead.
Violations & Fines
If the required 20-foot fire buffer along abutting improved property isn't kept clear, the parcel is a public nuisance under Chapter 8.30, exposing the owner to notice and city abatement action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to mow my whole vacant lot in Tacoma?
What happens to smaller vacant lots?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tacoma
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Vacant Lot Maintenance in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle vacant lot maintenance.