Landscaping Rules in Alabama (2026)

Pruning or topping any tree on Auburn's public property, including street trees and park trees, must follow…

Birmingham requires tree limbs and trimmings to be properly hauled away and not left in yards; work on public/street…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a tree, shrub or ground cover on private property that interferes with a public…

Huntsville requires vegetation along streets, sidewalks, and alleys to be pruned to the intersection-visibility…

Jefferson County requires shade trees planted as required parking lot landscaping to be trimmed and maintained at a…

The City of Madison trims tree limbs that extend over city streets on an as-needed basis. Property owners are…

Mobile property owners and tenants must keep the sidewalk fronting their property clear of tree branches and other…

Anyone pruning or cutting trees for hire anywhere in Montgomery needs a permit from the city's urban forester, and…

Auburn requires a permit before anyone removes, relocates, alters, or damages a tree on city-owned property or public…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, no one can remove a tree on public property or along a public street without approval…

In the City of Dothan, no tree of 12 inches or greater DBH may be removed from a tree protection area, and no tree may…

Cutting, removing or damaging a city tree, or a private tree required by another city ordinance, is illegal in…

Birmingham bars anyone from cutting down, destroying, removing, stealing or injuring, without proper authority, a shade…

Before clearing trees or otherwise disturbing regulated land in Hoover, property owners must obtain a land disturbance…

Anyone who removes a public tree six inches or larger in diameter must replant new trees in approximately equal…

Jefferson County's off-street parking landscaping code lets developers count an existing healthy tree toward planting…

Madison does not require a permit to remove a tree from an established residential lot. Tree protection applies to new…

In Mobile, Alabama's historic districts, when the urban forester permits removal of a heritage tree, the tree must be…

Vestavia Hills requires a tree permit from the Design Review Board before anyone removes, relocates, destroys or…

Birmingham Code section 11-8-8(c) makes it unlawful to let weeds, shrubs, grass or other vegetable growth on an…

Bessemer declares fire-prone or noxious weeds on private property a public nuisance, requiring council action, 30-day…

Auburn caps weeds and uncultivated plant growth at 12 inches on any parcel under City Code § 5-174, the local amendment…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, any growth of weeds other than ornamental plant growth that exceeds twelve inches in…

In the City of Dothan, grass, weeds or other non-ornamental plant growth taller than 12 inches on any lot is a declared…

Hoover requires every lot in the city or its police jurisdiction to be kept free of weeds, grass and vegetable growth…

Huntsville caps grass and weeds at 8 inches on lots inside a platted subdivision (12 inches on property adjacent to…

Jefferson County's weed rules come from its own Weed and Litter Ordinance, No. 1188, adopted under a constitutional…

It is a violation to let grass and weeds grow taller than 12 inches on any premises or lot you own within the City of…

Mobile caps grass and weeds at 10 inches on every lot in the city, and the duty to cut runs the whole way from the…

Montgomery caps grass and weeds at 12 inches on any property inside the city, including lots that abut city streets…

Tuscaloosa caps weeds, grass and kudzu at 12 inches on any premises or vacant lot under Sec. 13-67, bans planting…

Vestavia Hills makes it a misdemeanor to let grass, weeds or other spontaneous vegetation grow past 12 inches, and…

The Alabama Water Resources Act (Ala. Code Title 9, Chapter 10B) gives the Office of Water Resources authority to…

In the City of Dothan, Stage II mandatory water restrictions run every April 1 through October 1: sprinkler and…

When Auburn's mayor declares a water shortage emergency, it becomes unlawful to sprinkle, water, or irrigate lawns…

Huntsville only restricts lawn watering days when its utility declares a water alert or warning stage, at which point…

Once Tuscaloosa declares a Stage 2 water shortage, City Code Sec. 16-36 limits landscape irrigation to two fixed days a…

When the mayor declares a stage 3 or 4 drought emergency, Code Sec. 17-2 restricts lawn watering to two assigned days a…

Hoover has no standing watering schedule: restrictions only take effect once the mayor declares a water emergency…

Birmingham has no permanent municipal lawn-watering ordinance. Outdoor watering limits are set by the Birmingham Water…

Madison has no ordinance restricting residential rain barrels or rainwater harvesting. The Zoning Ordinance actually…

Mobile's Property Maintenance Code allows rainwater collection and nonpotable-reuse systems, but Section 505.5 requires…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance encourages, but never requires, cutting irrigation demand for required landscaping…

In the City of Dothan, required landscaping plans must largely use native or non-competing exotic plant species, and…

Planned Unit Developments in unincorporated Jefferson County must plant only native tree species in rights-of-way and…

Madison does not require homeowners to use native plants. For development sites, the Zoning Ordinance requires living…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance blocks the director of planning from approving trees for a required landscape plan if…

Vestavia Hills requires every landscape plan submitted for design review to use native, drought-tolerant vegetation…

Madison's Zoning Ordinance prohibits synthetic or artificial material imitating turf, trees, shrubs, or other plants…

Huntsville lets residents compost yard waste and food scraps at home without a permit, but Sec. 22-43 makes it unlawful…

Madison has no ordinance prohibiting backyard composting, and no permit is required. Compost simply cannot become a…

Tuscaloosa allows small-scale composting as an accessory use by right in every zoning district in the city. Sec…