Baltimore County's Weed Ordinance bars an owner or occupant from allowing grass, weeds, or other rank vegetation to exceed 8 inches in height (County Code Section 13-7-401). After notice you have days to cut to 3 inches, or the County mows it and charges you.
County Code Section 13-7-401(a) prohibits an owner, occupant, or person in control of a lot from allowing a growth of grass, weeds, or other rank vegetation to a height exceeding 8 inches, and bars ragweed, poison ivy, and other noxious weeds. Subsection (b) lets the Department modify the rule for agricultural land, wooded areas, vegetated buffers, stream and habitat protection areas, and unimproved areas over 3 acres. Under Section 13-7-402 the County issues a correction notice requiring the vegetation be cut to a height not exceeding 3 inches. Under Section 13-7-403, if the owner does not comply within 7 days of the notice, the County cuts the growth to 3 inches and the expense becomes a lien on the property.
Failure to comply is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or up to 30 days. Civil fines within three months run to $100 (first), $500 (second), and $1,000 (third and later); each day is a separate offense.
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