Landscaping Rules in Illinois (2026)

Arlington Heights Municipal Code Section 20-604 makes it the duty of the owner of the abutting property to trim any…

Utilities other than the electric utility must obtain a village permit before trimming trees or controlling vegetation…

Champaign property owners must trim their trees, shrubs, and vegetation to keep a minimum overhead clearance of eight…

Chicago requires 10 feet of clearance above sidewalks and streets for trees and shrubs, or the growth is a declared…

Cicero property owners must trim any tree, weed, or shrub that overhangs a public or private sidewalk, street…

Trimming or removing vegetation in a Cook County-controlled public way requires a Highway Department permit if the work…

Parkway (right-of-way) trees in Des Plaines must be trimmed and maintained per City Code Chapter 8-4 to avoid…

Elgin bars anyone from trimming, cutting or removing a tree in the public right-of-way without department of public…

Evanston makes overhanging tree branches a declared nuisance: property owners must keep boughs, limbs, and twigs…

Sec. 26-131 makes property owners responsible for trimming trees, shrubs and plants next to any street or alley…

Naperville, Illinois requires branches overhanging a street, alley, or sidewalk to clear at least 12 feet, with dead or…

Trees overhanging a sidewalk, street, alley or parkway in Oak Lawn must be trimmed to set minimum clearance heights…

Oak Park treats trees and shrubs that block sidewalks, streets, streetlights or sightlines as public nuisances…

Every Peoria property owner bordering a street with overhanging trees must keep branches trimmed to a minimum seven…

Rockford bans tree and shrub branches that overhang a street, sidewalk or alley in a way that blocks passage or makes…

Schaumburg requires a permit from the Department of Engineering and Public Works before anyone trims, prunes or removes…

Village of Skokie Code makes property owners responsible for trimming or removing any tree or shrub that overhangs a…

Springfield City Code Title IX, Chapter 99, Article III, Section 99.20 ('Trimming; nuisance') declares it a nuisance…

Tinley Park requires the owner of the abutting property, or the property where a tree or shrub grows, to trim back any…

Waukegan property owners must trim tree branches to a clear ten feet above any street and eight feet above any…

Cook County Chapter 126 requires tree removal permits for deciduous trees over 6 inches in diameter and evergreen trees…

Arlington Heights Municipal Code Section 20-602 requires a Department of Public Works permit before anyone damages or…

Cutting down, damaging, or moving any tree within Elgin city limits requires a tree removal permit from the development…

In unincorporated Lake County, developers need Planning, Building and Development Director sign-off before removing…

Naperville, Illinois requires a City permit and $40 fee before removing any live tree with a trunk 4 inches or more in…

Removing a healthy public tree from the parkway in front of a Peoria property isn't a property owner's unilateral call…

Cutting down, damaging, or removing a tree in Rockford's public right-of-way or on city-owned property without the city…

Removing a tree of any real size in Schaumburg takes written approval from the community development director first…

Waukegan requires a City Forester permit before removing any tree six inches or greater in diameter at breast height…

Anyone who injures, mutilates, or kills a tree or shrub on Aurora, Illinois city-owned property must pay its full…

Removing or relocating any tree six inches or more in trunk diameter (a 19-inch circumference) anywhere in Bolingbrook…

Champaign requires a free permit from the Director of Public Works before anyone removes, damages, or root-cuts a tree…

Anyone who injures, mutilates, or kills a city parkway tree while violating the tree ordinance must pay the full…

Before felling a private-property tree in Cicero that could reasonably fall onto town-owned land, the owner must first…

Developers in unincorporated DuPage County must replant any preserved tree that dies or is destroyed, matching its…

When a protected tree is removed under a City permit, Evanston requires replacement at a rate up to 175% of the removed…

City Code Sec. 26-128(g) requires a tree permit before removing or damaging any public tree, and before cutting any…

Kendall County requires developers of unincorporated subdivisions to submit a preliminary tree preservation plan with…

Removing a protected tree in Crystal Lake requires a tree removal permit from the Building Division under the Unified…

Oak Lawn has no standalone permit to cut down a tree on private property, but building permits for new construction or…

In the Village of Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois, no one but the Village Forester or a Village-hired contractor may…

Before removing a tree of 8 inches or greater in diameter at a Skokie construction site, an owner or contractor must…

Removing, injuring, or endangering any tree, shrub, or plant on Springfield public property requires a tree permit from…

Cutting down or removing any tree or shrub growing in a Tinley Park street, parkway, or other public place requires a…

In unincorporated Will County, removing a tree with a trunk six inches or more in diameter as part of permitted…

Winnebago County requires developers to replace any preserved credited tree that dies within three years of…

Sangamon County has no general tree-replacement law for private removals -- the only county rule sits in the…

Illinois law designates noxious weeds and requires landowners to control them on all property regardless of municipal…

Naperville declares jimson weed, burdock, ragweed, thistle, cockleburr and similar weeds a nuisance on any lot in the…

Arlington Heights, Illinois caps weed and grass height at 12 inches on vacant land and eight inches on occupied lots…

Aurora requires property owners citywide to keep weeds and grass under 8 inches; violators face a city-ordered mow…

Bolingbrook bans grass, weeds and most plants over six inches tall anywhere in the village, including the parkway strip…

Champaign caps vegetation on private property at 8 inches tall under Sec. 35-19(a)(7), with an exception for maintained…

Beyond mowing height, Illinois law makes controlling noxious weeds a legal duty. The Illinois Noxious Weed Law requires…

Chicago caps weeds on any property at an average height of 10 inches, with fines starting at $600 per day of violation.

The Town of Cicero bans grass and weeds over seven inches tall on any lot, and requires owners to pull and destroy…

In unincorporated Cook County, letting grass or weeds grow past ten inches is a declared public nuisance the Health…

Des Plaines City Code section 5-5-4 declares it a nuisance to let weeds, grass or plants (other than trees, bushes…

Elgin caps weeds and grass at eight inches on every property under Sec. 9.16.020, declaring anything taller, plus all…

Evanston property owners must cut weeds and turf grass before they exceed eight inches (8") under City Code § 8-5-2…

Joliet caps weeds and grass at eight inches on any lot in the city under § 8-339, and treats taller growth or…

Kane County Code 15-2(1)(a) declares it a nuisance to keep or grow noxious weeds or vegetation that creates a public…

Kankakee County requires periodic cutting of weeds and grasses on any parcel of five acres or less in unincorporated…

Lake County caps grass and weeds at 10 inches tall within platted subdivisions, treating taller growth as a public…

In unincorporated Macon County, grass and weeds are capped at 12 inches on any lot inside a platted subdivision or on a…

Crystal Lake caps weeds and grass at eight inches; owners get seven days after notice to cut, or the city cuts and…

Oak Lawn caps weeds at 4 inches tall on private property, the abutting parkway, and abutting alleys, and can cut them…

Oak Park caps weeds and grass at 8 inches on any lot in the Village. Owners who ignore a cutting notice face…

Peoria caps weeds and grass at ten inches tall on any property under City Code Section 13-1's definition, and Section…

Beyond the ten-inch mowing cap, Illinois law makes controlling noxious weeds a legal duty. The Illinois Noxious Weed…

Unincorporated Rock Island County caps weeds and grass at ten inches on parcels of two acres or less, and requires a…

Rockford limits weeds and grass to 8 inches on most lots, and 10 inches on unimproved parcels over an acre, under City…

Unincorporated Sangamon County property must be kept free of weeds and plant growth taller than twelve inches, with…

Schaumburg caps weeds and turf grass at eight inches tall within 200 feet of any residential building, and along…

Village of Skokie Code Sec. 42-39 caps weed and grass growth at 6 inches on any plot of ground in the Village, Cook…

Springfield City Code Section 170.17.15(a) makes any rank growth of weeds 10 inches or greater in height a violation…

St. Clair County Code Chapter 25 names specific weeds (ragweed, thistle, poison ivy, Johnson grass and others) and…

Unincorporated Tazewell County caps weeds, plants, and grass at ten inches tall on residentially zoned parcels of one…

Tinley Park caps grass at eight inches tall and declares weeds and overgrown grass a nuisance on any property under…

Waukegan caps weeds and grass on every lot at eight inches under Property Maintenance Code § 302.4, adopted at City…

Unincorporated Will County property maintenance code caps weeds and plant growth at 10 inches; violations are a petty…

Winnebago County requires noxious weeds and mosquito-breeding vegetation to be cut down at least three times each year…

Unincorporated Kendall County has no maximum weed or grass height ordinance. When the County adopted the 2024…

When Elgin's water system capacity is threatened, the city manager can impose five escalating conservation levels, from…

From May 15 through September 15 each year, Tinley Park limits lawn and garden sprinkling to an odd/even address…

The county water district can ban all lawn sprinkling and outdoor irrigation during shortages, with no fixed schedule…

Aurora limits city water for lawns, gardens, and pools to alternating even/odd calendar dates within set morning and…

From May 15 through September 15, Cicero limits lawn sprinkling to odd-numbered calendar days for odd-addressed…

DuPage County's public water utility bans unrestricted lawn sprinkling from May 15 through September 15, limiting…

Evanston limits lawn irrigation to odd-numbered addresses on odd calendar dates and even addresses on even dates from…

Joliet limits lawn watering from the city public water supply to 6-10 a.m. and 6-10 p.m., on an odd/even schedule tied…

Lake County's public water system bans outdoor watering from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day from May 15 through September…

Crystal Lake uses a color-coded water-conservation system. During a declared 'Yellow' condition, odd-numbered addresses…

Naperville ties City water use for lawns, gardens, and pool filling to a property's street number: even addresses water…

From May 15 through September 15, Oak Lawn limits lawn and garden watering to set morning/evening hours on an odd/even…

From May 15 through September 15 each year, the Village of Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois, limits outdoor watering to…

Schaumburg bans sprinkling or watering any property except between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. year-round, and bars…

Village of Skokie code bans lawn sprinkling and irrigation, including automatic and oscillating sprinklers, from 10:00…

Waukegan runs a mandatory odd/even watering schedule every summer: from May 15 through September 15, even-numbered…

Illinois has never adopted a statewide plumbing standard for rainwater harvesting. The Department of Public Health…

Unincorporated Lake County has no stand-alone rainwater-harvesting permit. The only place its Unified Development…

In unincorporated Cook County, any rainwater catchment system that feeds irrigation lines, toilets, or other plumbing…

Peoria's stormwater technical guidance approves rain barrels and rain cisterns as water reuse systems developers can…

Unincorporated Will County zoning lets homeowners install rain barrels up to 5 feet tall inside required street, side…

Aurora's water-conservation ordinance defines harvested rainwater and exempts it from the city's odd/even watering…

Unincorporated McHenry County treats rain barrels and cisterns as approved green infrastructure under its Stormwater…

Waukegan's accessory use table allows a Rain Barrel or Rainwater Cistern by right ("A") in all seventeen zoning…

Aurora's zoning code lets developers use prairie-style naturalized plantings in stormwater and open-space areas instead…

In unincorporated Cook County, required landscape plans for building permits, PUDs, and large parking lots must use…

Kendall County requires new subdivisions to plant naturalized open space areas with true native vegetation, species…

Unincorporated Lake County requires every designated open space area created by a subdivision or development to be…

Illinois' Homeowners' Native Landscaping Act bars community associations from banning native-species plantings that are…

Naperville allows private natural landscaping of native wildflowers and prairie grasses, but owners must obtain a…

Unincorporated Will County's zoning code treats native plants as an approved way to meet mandatory landscaping. Section…

Champaign exempts maintained native and pollinator gardens from its 8-inch vegetation cap through the 'alternative…

Register a native/pollinator garden with the city and it's exempt from the 10-inch weed height limit.

Elgin's zoning landscape code affirmatively favors native species: § 19.12.730(D) states native trees, shrubs, and…

Joliet exempts a properly maintained managed natural landscape, native grasses, wildflowers, rain gardens and similar…

Springfield's zoning code rewards developers who use native plants in required site landscaping. Under Sec…

Native prairie landscaping is well accepted here. Since July 2024, Illinois' Homeowners' Native Landscaping Act bars…

Unincorporated DuPage County adopted the International Property Maintenance Code but struck its weeds section entirely…

Kane County exempts recognized prairie plants from its weed and yard-maintenance nuisance rules, so a natural or native…

Oak Park's Property Maintenance Code exempts cultivated gardens, including beds planted or naturally recruited with…

Peoria's weed ordinance defines weeds as noxious vegetation and grasses over ten inches tall, but Sec. 13-1 expressly…

Native prairie landscaping suits this river-valley county. Since July 2024, Illinois' Homeowners' Native Landscaping…

Crystal Lake and McHenry County have no ordinance specifically banning or approving residential artificial turf…

Bolingbrook's vacant and foreclosed property registry ordinance, Code of Ordinances § 26-87(d), lists artificial turf…

Cicero's vacant building ordinance lists artificial turf or sod as acceptable ground cover for registered vacant…

Tinley Park's vacant and foreclosure-property maintenance code expressly lists artificial turf or sod as acceptable…

Waukegan expressly allows artificial turf as acceptable ground cover on registered vacant and defaulted-mortgage…

Champaign caps any residential compost cell or pile at 125 cubic feet and 5 feet in height under Sec. 35-40, requires…

Backyard composting is legal permit-free up to 10 cubic yards if it stays odor- and pest-free.

In unincorporated Cook County, backyard compost piles and bins are capped at five feet tall with a combined…

Evanston lets residents compost via the City's food and yard waste program: Kraft paper bags up to 30 gallons or…

Backyard composting is legal in Kane County. Code Chapter 15 defines composting as a managed aerobic process, and yard…

Unincorporated Kankakee County exempts small backyard composting from zoning entirely: a garden compost operation can…

Unincorporated Lake County caps home compost piles tied to local food gardens at 4 feet tall and 100 square feet…

Naperville limits residential compost bins to 100 cubic feet and 4 feet tall, requires rear-yard placement with…

Peoria allows composting on community garden and urban farm sites only inside a container, using material generated on…

Unincorporated Sangamon County residents may compost landscape waste in bins no taller than five feet, or piles under…

Skokie allows backyard composting only in an Approved Composting Bin meeting Skokie Health Department specifications…

Springfield lets residents compost yard waste only inside a freestanding bin capped at 125 cubic feet and five feet…

St. Clair County has no rule against backyard composting. Statewide, Illinois bans landscape waste (leaves, grass…

Tinley Park allows residential composting only inside a freestanding bin capped at 125 cubic feet and five feet tall…

Unincorporated Will County allows home composting of yard and food waste as an accessory use, but caps pile size and…

McLean County's zoning code does not regulate residential yard-waste composting generally; its one composting rule is…

Oak Park residents may keep a backyard compost pile for yard waste and compostable kitchen scraps under Village Code…

Unincorporated Rock Island County requires no permit to run a backyard compost pile. Section 52.21 of the county's…

Waukegan allows compost bins as a by-right accessory use in most districts, but only in the rear yard, in a fully…

Aurora exempts yard waste from its citywide ban on piling waste accumulations: residents may keep it in a compost pile…

Unincorporated Macon County exempts private property owners from the county's dumping-permit requirement when they…