Wisconsin's noxious-weed duty under Wis. Stat. § 66.0407 requires every landowner to destroy noxious weeds, but height limits and mowing enforcement are set by each city or village. Milwaukee County does not run tall-grass enforcement on private property.
Wisconsin law places the duty to control weeds on the landowner and gives enforcement to municipalities, not to Milwaukee County. Under Wis. Stat. § 66.0407, a person owning, occupying, or controlling land must destroy all noxious weeds — defined to include Canada thistle, leafy spurge, field bindweed, DNR-designated weeds, and any weed a municipality or county board declares noxious. Each town, village, and city appoints a weed commissioner who may destroy weeds a neglectful owner failed to cut and assess the cost against the property. Tall-grass and turf-height limits are set by individual municipal ordinances; the City of Milwaukee enforces lawn-height and weed rules through the Department of Neighborhood Services. There is no countywide tall-grass ordinance for private yards.
If an owner ignores a weed order, the municipal weed commissioner may cut the weeds and charge the cost as a special tax on the property tax bill under Wis. Stat. § 66.0407(5). The county does not cite private owners.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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