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…

Battle Creek, Michigan requires owners of private trees overhanging a street or public right-of-way to keep a clear…

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…

In the City of Dearborn Heights, Sec. 33-34 requires every owner of a tree overhanging a street or right-of-way to trim…

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…

City Code § 42-6B requires City-maintained street and curblawn trees to keep at least eight feet of clearance over…

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

In the City of Novi, Code § 21-210 requires property owners and occupants to trim any tree, bush, vine or plant so its…

Owners of property adjacent to a Rochester Hills street must keep trees, shrubs and other vegetation trimmed to set…

In the City of Royal Oak, owners of trees, shrubs or plants overhanging a street or highway must trim branches so they…

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

Southfield requires branches from private-property trees to clear sidewalks and bike paths by at least 8 feet, and…

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

In the City of Taylor, Michigan, City Code Section 20-124 sets tree and shrub spacing rules for highways and requires…

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…

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

In the City of Dearborn Heights, Sec. 33-30 requires a tree permit from the Department of Public Works before anyone…

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…

Only the City of Kalamazoo or its agent may remove a City or street tree outright; anyone else needs a Public Works…

In the City of Novi, removing, damaging or destroying any tree or woody vegetation within a regulated woodland, or any…

No one may remove, transplant, damage or destroy a protected tree anywhere in the City of Pontiac without first…

Rochester Hills requires a tree removal permit before anyone removes, transplants, damages or destroys a regulated…

No one may cut down, damage or destroy a tree, shrub or plant on a public highway, park or other public place in the…

Removing, trimming, or otherwise disturbing a tree or shrub in a Southfield highway, park, or public place requires a…

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…

In Wyoming, Michigan, no one can remove, injure or destroy a tree in a public right-of-way or on city property…

A Battle Creek resident who wants to plant, prune or remove a tree in the curb lawn or public right-of-way must apply…

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…

In the City of Taylor, Michigan, City Code Section 20-122(e) bars anyone from removing, destroying, breaking, cutting…

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…

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…

Dearborn Heights prints two height figures. Section 33-52 makes the owner, occupant or person in charge of any lot or…

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…

City of Kalamazoo Code § 21-3.A(1) makes any weeds or grass 8 inches or taller a declared public nuisance on any lot in…

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…

On subdivided, condominium or structure-occupied land in Novi, weeds, grass, brush or other unhealthy growth may not…

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

Pontiac City Code § 122-71 caps weeds, grass, and other rank vegetation at eight inches average height on any parcel in…

Rochester Hills limits weeds and plant growth to eight inches on all premises and adjacent rights-of-way under Property…

In the City of Royal Oak, the property maintenance code caps plant growth on any lot at eight inches, excluding trees…

In the Charter Township of Royal Oak, Michigan, weeds of any species or variety, and wild growing brush or underbrush…

In the City of Southfield, weeds of any variety, plus a named list including Canada thistle, ragweed and poison ivy…

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

In the City of Taylor, Michigan, grass and weeds over eight inches tall count as high weeds under Code section 20-147…

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…

West Bloomfield Township caps lawn grass and weeds at eight inches on any residential or commercial property under Sec…

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…

Sec. 50-40 of the Taylor City Code lets the city declare a water use reduction or prohibition emergency during drought…

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

From June 1 through October 1 each year, City Code Sec. 35-47 limits lawn and garden sprinkling in the City of Dearborn…

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…

City of Novi Code § 34-24 limits lawn and landscape watering to alternate days tied to your street address…

Rochester Hills limits automatic lawn and landscape irrigation to the hours between midnight and 5:00 a.m. under City…

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…

West Bloomfield Township can impose odd/even-day lawn watering hours once Detroit's water system triggers an emergency…

The City of Southfield regulates rainwater harvesting hardware under City Code § 5.60-D. Rain barrels and cisterns must…

Battle Creek, Michigan sets one numeric rule for private garden rain barrels and cisterns: rain catchment systems must…

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…

In the City of Royal Oak, rain barrel systems are explicitly listed as an allowed accessory feature of a community…

In the City of Southfield, a natural lawn of native plants and wildflowers that grows past eight inches is legal only…

Inside Kalamazoo's Natural Features Protection Overlay District, City Code § 50-6.2(J)(4)(b) requires native species…

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…

In the City of Royal Oak, the Property Maintenance Code caps plant growth at eight inches everywhere except trees…

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…

Battle Creek, Michigan requires private garden compost piles to sit at least five feet from every adjoining property…

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…

In the City of Novi backyard compost piles are allowed if they skip meat, dairy, cooking oil and plastics, stay out of…

Rochester Hills allows residential compost piles under Property Maintenance Code Section 302.1.2, but caps each pile at…

The City of Royal Oak allows backyard composting under Royal Oak City Code § 633-13, but only in an approved bin set at…

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…

West Bloomfield Township caps residential compost bins at 160 cubic feet and five feet tall, limits a lot to two bins…

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…

The City of Kalamazoo does not set bin standards for backyard composting; instead it carves compost out of two…