Landscaping Rules in Kentucky (2026)

Bowling Green bans topping any public tree and requires vegetation that hangs over a public right-of-way, including…

Street trees in Lexington-Fayette's right-of-way must be kept clear of sidewalks and streets, minimum overhead…

Louisville Metro's tree ordinance makes the abutting property owner responsible for maintaining public trees along…

In unincorporated McCracken County, Kentucky, property owners must keep trees, shrubs, hedges, and other objects along…

In the City of Owensboro, adjoining property owners must prune trees and shrubs in the street lawn or right-of-way to…

Kentucky imposes no statewide private tree removal permit requirement, with the Right-to-Farm Act protecting timber…

No one may remove a street tree over 3 inches in diameter from Lexington-Fayette's right-of-way without a permit from…

In the City of Owensboro, Sec. 5-160(b) bars anyone but the city from cutting, poisoning or damaging a tree or shrub on…

In the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky, no one may remove, cut down to the ground or otherwise disturb a public tree…

Stripping, excavating, filling, or removing trees and other vegetation in unincorporated Campbell County requires a…

Louisville Metro requires a tree removal permit only on non-residential and multi-family development sites where…

Boone County caps grass and weeds at eight inches on any non-agricultural lot in a populated part of the unincorporated…

In the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Sec. 27-4.07 of the Code of Ordinances caps weeds and other plant growth…

Campbell County bars letting weeds go uncut in any zone once they become a public-health menace or drag down…

Daviess County caps weeds and grasses at 10 inches on lots within 100 feet of a residential, commercial or professional…

In unincorporated Franklin County, Kentucky, Franklin County Code § 91.20 makes excessive growth of bushes, weeds or…

In unincorporated Jessamine County, Kentucky, weeds or grass at 10 inches or higher are unsightly and unlawful on…

Lexington-Fayette makes it unlawful for any owner to let weeds or grass grow past 10 inches anywhere on a property…

Louisville Metro caps weeds and grass at 10 inches on improved lots and bans noxious weeds outright, under the Property…

McCracken County Code § 110.13(E) declares excessive grass or weeds a public nuisance and requires weeds and grass over…

In the City of Owensboro, Sec. 5-137(b)(20) sets the default nuisance threshold for weeds and grass at ten inches or…

Kentucky's Division of Water and Public Service Commission oversee drought response, authorizing public water systems…

Boone County's water utility can trigger mandatory odd-even outdoor watering days when supply runs short. Under County…

In the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Bowling Green Municipal Utilities and the Warren County Water District can…

Campbell County Code § 54.03 lets the Judge/Executive declare four tiers of water-supply conservation when the Northern…

In unincorporated Franklin County, Kentucky, outdoor watering restrictions are triggered by a declared water shortage…

In the City of Owensboro, Owensboro Municipal Utilities can declare a four-phase water shortage under Owensboro…

Louisville Metro allows rain barrels and cisterns, but the nuisance code treats any uncovered water-holding container…

Louisville Metro lets property owners grow native plantings, meadow vegetation, prairie, or a rain garden above the…

Lexington-Fayette's nuisance code carves out an explicit exemption for native, naturalized landscaping from its weed…

Bowling Green limits residential compost to bins under 125 cubic feet built from wood, fiberglass, wire, metal or other…

Lexington-Fayette regulates backyard compost piles through its general nuisance code. Sec. 12-2 requires every compost…

In unincorporated Franklin County, Kentucky, the Fiscal Court's solid waste chapter defines compost and caps a…

Louisville Metro exempts backyard compost piles and bins from facility licensing as long as the material on site stays…

Oldham County's Fiscal Court encourages residential and agricultural composting of green waste, food scraps and other…

Owensboro doesn't ban home composting, but § 5-137(b)(4) makes a compost pile a public nuisance if it spreads disease…