Maine state law: residential grass and weed height

The Maine Revised Statutes contain no statewide '8 inch' or '12 inch' lawn-height rule. Tall-grass, weed-overgrowth, and unkempt-yard nuisance abatement is enforced at the municipal level under 30-A MRS § 3001 (Ordinance Power / Home Rule) and the municipal property-maintenance code — typically the International Property Maintenance Code incorporated by reference into MUBEC for municipalities of 4,000+ population under 25 MRS § 2451. A direct conflict sits inside the mandatory Shoreland Zone: under 38 MRS § 439-A and the DEP Shoreland Zoning Standards (Chapter 1000), 'there may be no cutting of vegetation within the strip of land extending 75 feet inland from the normal high-water line except to remove safety hazards' for resource-protection-district waters, and a 'well-distributed stand of vegetation must be retained' inside the standard 75-100 ft buffer of great ponds, rivers, freshwater wetlands, and tidal waters. The municipal property-maintenance code must reconcile any mowing duty against this state-mandated vegetated buffer.

No state fine. Municipal property-maintenance citations are typically $50-$500 per day plus mow-at-owner's-expense charges. Shoreland Zone clear-cutting violations are enforceable by the Maine DEP and the municipal Code Enforcement Officer under 38 MRS § 439-A; fines may reach $25,000 per violation per day.