In unincorporated Kane County, grass on a residential-use parcel may not exceed 12 inches in height, and noxious weeds listed under the Illinois Noxious Weed Law must be removed. Prairie plants and public natural areas are exempt. Cities set their own limits.
Kane County Code § 15-2(1) declares overgrown yards and noxious weeds nuisances on property outside any city or village. Grass — 'all vegetative ground cover located within a yard excluding noxious weeds' — may not exceed twelve inches on a residential-use parcel. Noxious weeds (per the Illinois Noxious Weed Law, 505 ILCS 100) include marihuana, Canada thistle, musk thistle, Johnson grass, quack grass, curled dock and others; all must be removed. Prairie plants, public nature areas, and government-owned land are excluded. Inside Aurora, Elgin and other towns, the municipal weed ordinance controls.
Fine up to $500 per subsection; each day is a separate violation. County may mow and bill the owner after notice under § 15-7.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Backyard composting is legal in Kane County. Code Chapter 15 defines composting as a managed aerobic process, and yard waste is a defined material — but a co...
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Kane County has no ordinance banning or specifically regulating artificial turf on residential property in unincorporated areas. Installations must still mee...
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Kane County actively protects native landscaping: its weed and grass-height ordinances (Chapter 15) expressly exclude prairie plants, so a native/prairie gar...
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Kane County has no ordinance banning rain barrels or cisterns — collecting rainwater on your property is legal in Illinois. The Illinois Plumbing Code govern...
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Kane County sets no countywide lawn-watering schedule — this is the Midwest, not a drought-rationing region. Any watering limits come from your local water u...
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Kane County Code 15-2(1)(a) declares it a nuisance to keep or grow noxious weeds or vegetation that creates a public health/safety hazard on unincorporated l...
See how Kane County's weeds & overgrown grass rules stack up against other locations.
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