Landscaping Rules in Louisiana (2026)

Caddo Parish bans topping or cutting back a tree's crown to stubs on street rights-of-way and other public grounds…

Trees growing on Jefferson Parish public property, including the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the street…

Any "tree company" trimming, cutting or removing a tree anywhere in Lafayette Consolidated Government's service area…

In the City of Lafayette, anyone pruning, removing or treating a tree or shrub on public property or in a street…

Lake Charles requires property owners to keep trees and shrubs trimmed clear of the public right-of-way. Sec. 18-4 sets…

Residents can ask the Department of Parks and Parkways in writing to prune or cut back a city tree adjoining their…

Shreveport requires owners of trees, shrubs and hedges on sidewalks or overhanging public rights-of-way to keep them…

Terrebonne Parish requires owners to prune any tree overhanging a street or right-of-way so branches leave 8 feet of…

Cutting or clearing a protected tree, generally any oak, elm, magnolia, sycamore, or other significant canopy tree of 8…

New Orleans requires written approval from the Department of Parks and Parkways before anyone cuts, prunes, treats or…

Caddo Parish requires a tree removal permit to take down any tree 30 inches or larger in caliper on a street…

A permit from the Development Department is required to remove any tree or shrub in the public right-of-way. On sites…

Lafayette's Unified Development Code requires that a property owner who removes a preserved tree that was counted for…

In the City of Lafayette, removing, pruning, or treating any tree or shrub on public property or in a public…

In unincorporated St. Tammany Parish, clearing land or removing trees ahead of construction requires a land clearing…

Tangipahoa Parish requires major subdivisions and special use residential commercial developments to preserve a 25-foot…

No one may remove or disturb a street tree or park tree in Terrebonne Parish without first getting a permit from the…

A tree removal permit in Shreveport is required for trees 30 inches or larger in caliper in street rights-of-way and…

Shreveport caps grass, weeds and wild growth at 12 inches on every occupied, vacant, residential and nonresidential…

In established subdivisions of unincorporated Ascension Parish, owners must cut grass exceeding twenty-four inches and…

Owners of any lot in an approved subdivision in unincorporated Bossier Parish, vacant or improved, must cut and destroy…

Caddo Parish's nuisance code makes it unlawful to let weeds, grass or deleterious growth exceed 18 inches on improved…

Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish cap grass and weeds on lots in recognized subdivisions at 12 inches, and a…

Jefferson Parish caps grass and weeds at eight inches within 150 feet of any building on a lot. Sec. 19-18 declares…

Lafayette caps weeds and grass at 12 inches on any occupied lot, abutting sidewalk, or neutral ground within the city…

Lafayette City-Parish caps weeds and grass at 12 inches in occupied subdivisions and 24 inches on outlying land…

Lake Charles Code Sec. 23-3 makes it excess vegetative growth once vegetation reaches 12 inches tall, or grows six…

New Orleans's nuisance code requires every property owner, occupant or lessee to cut and mow grass and weeds so they…

Ouachita Parish requires owners of lots in recognized subdivisions and clearly established residential areas along…

In recognized subdivisions outside incorporated towns, Rapides Parish will not send crews to cut weeds and grass unless…

Weeds, grass, or other growth over 15 inches tall are unlawful on any lot within a subdivision, or within 100 feet of a…

Outside the parish's municipalities, owners and agents must cut grass and weeds before they exceed 18 inches, unless…

Terrebonne Parish caps weeds and plant growth on every improved lot at 12 inches. Parish Code § 6-110(b), amending…

Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government runs a mandatory odd/even outdoor watering schedule every summer under…

Lafayette Parish limits lawn and garden watering to three days a week, odd or even by street address, from May 1 to…

Lafayette allows rainwater collection and nonpotable water reuse systems but holds owners to a maintenance standard…

The parish code sets no permit or rule for a home rain barrel, but § 89-151 defines rooftop 'irrigation cisterns' as…

Shreveport's code contains no rainwater-harvesting ordinance, no permit and no cistern rules. Rain barrels are lawful…

There is no rule forcing homeowners to plant native species, but the UDC uses native trees in its standards: mitigation…

Jefferson Parish's low impact development standards let site plans meet part of their stormwater and landscaping…

Lafayette City-Parish's landscape code explicitly encourages incorporating native plant materials into required buffer…

Shreveport does not require native landscaping. Required trees and plantings must come from the Tree and Plant Palette…

Shreveport has no ordinance that permits or bans artificial turf by name. UDC Section 10.8 requires every part of a lot…

New Orleans has no ordinance banning home composting, so residents may compost yard and food scraps. Composting must…

Shreveport's Unified Development Code treats a compost pile as a permitted accessory use in every residential and…

St. Tammany Parish lets a homeowner in the unincorporated parish keep a yard waste compost site up to 300 cubic feet…

Backyard composting in Jefferson Parish does not trigger the zoning and licensing rules that apply to a commercial…