Tazewell County, IL Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

47 of the Tazewell County Code of Ordinances makes it unlawful to let weeds, plants or grass, other than trees, bushes, flowers or other ornamental plants, grow past 10 inches on a residentially zoned parcel of one acre or less. The rule sits inside Chapter 91's nuisance provisions, alongside the county's litter ordinance (Sec. 46) and its vacated-premises rule (Sec. 48), which requires anyone leaving a lot, building or structure to first clear out garbage and refuse and secure the site against unauthorized access. Because the county's zoning and code-enforcement authority only reaches the unincorporated area, this height limit applies outside the corporate limits of Pekin, Morton, East Peoria and the county's other incorporated towns; those municipalities enforce their own weed ordinances.

Enforcement runs through the notice-of-violation procedure cross-referenced at Sec. 10, and a Health Officer or code enforcement officer can also act under Sec. 50's broader 'other nuisances' catch-all, which reaches attractive nuisances such as abandoned wells, basements and unsecured refrigerators on the same unimproved lot. No specific fine is set out in Sec. 47 itself; instead it carries a note directing readers to Sec. 99 for the penalty.