Landscaping Rules in Michigan (2026)

Warren bars anyone but the city from performing maintenance, including trimming, on a public tree unless an exception…

Ann Arbor requires private property owners to trim trees, shrubs, and other vegetation to keep 8 feet of clearance over…

Clinton Township requires a 12-foot clear space above sidewalks and rights-of-way wherever trees or foliage grow…

Dearborn's zoning ordinance sets exact clearance heights for trees and shrubs near roads: 14 feet over roadways, 7 feet…

Detroit property owners must trim branches overhanging streets or sidewalks to keep a clear 10-foot vertical clearance…

The City of Flint requires any person or company that cuts, removes, or trims trees on private property for hire to…

Grand Rapids zoning requires landscaping on sites with an approved landscape plan to be pruned and trimmed so it never…

Livonia bars property owners from maintaining any tree or shrub that causes a traffic hazard, obstruction, or public…

Village Code § 430-25 requires Shelby Village property owners and occupants to keep the sidewalks abutting their…

Sterling Heights requires property owners to trim trees and shrubs bordering public streets to an 8-foot clearance or…

Troy property owners must keep tree branches trimmed to an 8-foot clearance above any street or right-of-way abutting…

Westland requires owners to trim tree branches overhanging a street or right-of-way to keep at least eight feet of…

In Wyoming, Michigan, an owner whose tree trunk sits on private property is responsible for maintaining any limbs or…

Public utilities in Farmington Hills need the city manager's permission to trim trees in streets, alleys, parks and…

Lansing's landscaping code requires trees and shrubs on a site plan to be trimmed so they don't conflict with…

Oakland County does not issue a county-wide tree-removal permit for private property. Tree-removal regulation is…

Ann Arbor gives its City Administrator sole authority over trees and shrubs in street rights-of-way, lawn extensions…

Detroit requires a General Services Department permit before anyone cuts, destroys, sprays, or does surgical work on a…

Grand Rapids zoning requires a tree protection plan under the development permit process, and only allows removing a…

Jackson County itself has no tree-removal ordinance for private property because zoning and land-use permitting in…

Anyone who removes a regulated or landmark tree under a Sterling Heights permit must replace or relocate it under a set…

Troy's Tree Regulations chapter bars anyone from trimming, spraying or removing a tree in a public place, street…

Clinton Township requires anyone removing five or more trees with four-inch-or-larger trunks from one property within a…

Property owners in Dearborn must obtain a $125 tree removal permit from the Department of Economic Development before…

Farmington Hills controls all trees within street rights-of-way and parks. An abutting property owner needs written…

The City of Flint requires a written permit from the Recreation and Park Board before anyone removes, plants, prunes…

Lansing requires a written permit from the City Forester before anyone may remove, destroy, cut, trim, or otherwise…

Removing, pruning, or otherwise affecting a tree or shrub in a Livonia public place, meaning streets, parks, and…

Removing a public tree or shrub in Warren requires a permit from the department of public service under Section 38-11…

When Westland approves removal of protected trees above the 20 percent DBH cap, or any landmark tree, the zoning…

Wyoming, Michigan bars anyone from removing, injuring or destroying a tree in a public right-of-way or on city…

Ann Arbor's Chapter 40 tree-and-vegetation ordinance makes every owner responsible for the lawn extension between the…

Clinton Township requires owners, agents and occupants of built-out subdivisions and lots along improved streets to…

Dearborn homeowners and occupants must keep lawns under six inches. City Code § 11-158 makes tall grass, vegetation…

Detroit declares weeds or grass over eight inches and brush or underbrush over one foot a public nuisance on any land…

Farmington Hills caps noxious weeds and lawn grass at 8 inches above ground level near subdivisions, condominiums and…

Weeds, grass, brush or other harmful vegetation taller than eight inches is a declared nuisance in the City of Flint on…

Genesee County has no countywide grass-height limit. Tall grass and noxious weeds are controlled by your city, village…

Grand Rapids declares grass, weeds or undergrowth taller than 12 inches a public nuisance on any property in the city…

Lansing property owners must keep grass under eight inches and premises free of weeds under the City's adopted Property…

Livonia caps weeds, grass, brush or other unhealthful growth at 9 inches above ground level on any lot in the city…

Weed abatement in Michigan is a township/city/village power, not a county one. Under the state Noxious Weeds Act (MCL…

Noxious weed control in Oakland County is governed by Michigan's Noxious Weeds Act (Act 359 of 1941, MCL…

Sterling Heights requires owners to destroy noxious weeds and grass over six inches before they go to seed; miss the…

Troy declares turf grass or weeds over eight inches tall a nuisance on any premises and requires owners to cut it back…

Warren defines unlawful overgrowth as grass exceeding six inches under Sec. 21-47 and bans it on any premises under…

Westland's property maintenance code caps weeds and grass at eight inches, with a 10-day cure notice for growth up to…

Wyoming, Michigan caps turf grass, weeds, and rank vegetation on developed properties at ten inches under Code of…

Clinton Township limits automatic lawn irrigation from May 15 through October 15 each year to an even/odd watering-day…

Detroit's zoning code requires required landscaped areas to have working irrigation and bars designing systems that…

During a Mayor-declared water supply emergency, the City of Flint can limit lawn and garden watering to even-numbered…

The Genesee County Drain Commissioner's Water & Waste Services (GCDC WWS) serves most Genesee communities and issues…

Livonia has no standing lawn-watering schedule, but Section 13.04.080 lets the mayor declare a water emergency and…

Sterling Heights limits municipal water use for lawn and landscaping irrigation to non-peak hours, 12:00 a.m. to 5:00…

Troy Code Chapter 18, Section 12.01 limits automatic sprinkler systems to the non-peak hours of 11pm to 5am. Manual…

Westland restricts lawn, garden, and shrub sprinkling to an odd-even day schedule from May 1 through October 1, with…

Grand Rapids' City Manager may regulate, limit, or prohibit water use, including lawn watering, whenever needed to…

Ann Arbor doesn't mandate rainwater harvesting, but the city's stormwater utility pays quarterly bill credits for rain…

Detroit's zoning code lists rainwater catchment systems as a permitted accessory feature on any urban garden, alongside…

Rainwater harvesting is legal and encouraged in Oakland County. The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's…

Troy's landscape ordinance requires at least fifty percent of a development's required plantings to be native species…

Warren lets property owners maintain a planned natural landscaping area of native plants under City Code Sec. 38-24…

Detroit exempts cultivated flower and garden beds from its citywide 8-inch weed and plant-growth cap, so residents can…

Macomb County government does not restrict planting native species, and Michigan's noxious-weed law expressly protects…

Oakland County actively promotes native Michigan plants through the RainSmart Rebates program. Qualifying rain gardens…

Warren's zoning code requires the strip of land between a homeowner's lot line or sidewalk and the street curb to stay…

For any site that must file a landscape plan, Livonia's Zoning Ordinance Section 10.04(4)(C) is blunt: "Artificial…

Dearborn requires every owner, lessee or occupant to separate yard waste, leaves, grass clippings, organic debris, from…

Detroit's zoning code sets siting rules for compost piles on permitted urban farms and gardens: kept near the rear crop…

Grand Rapids allows residential composting only in a fully enclosed, commercially made bin no larger than 64 cubic…

Backyard composting is allowed and encouraged in Kent County. Michigan law bans yard clippings from landfills, and the…

Livonia allows residential composting only in rear yards, at least 3 feet from any lot line and 25 feet from a…

Sterling Heights caps home compost piles at 5 feet tall and 125 cubic feet, set back 3 feet from lot lines.

Troy lets residents compost yard waste at home under City Code Chapter 16, Section 2.19, so long as bins stay small…

Wyoming, Michigan allows residents to store compost and organic matter on site, but only in the rear yard, set back at…

Lansing lets residents compost yard waste and fruit or vegetable matter on their own property, as long as it doesn't…

Ottawa County's refuse-dumping ban carves out an exception for backyard composting. Article XIV, Section H of the…

Warren lets residents compost leaves and yard waste at home for mulch or gardening with no bin standard, but curbside…