Landscaping Rules in Tennessee (2026)

Metro Nashville bans any tree, hedge, or bush inside a public street right-of-way, and bars them within 25 feet of…

Chattanooga requires property owners to prune trees overhanging streets and sidewalks to a minimum clearance -- eight…

Clarksville requires every property owner and tenant to keep trees and shrubbery trimmed back so they never impede…

Franklin bars property owners and HOAs from letting trees, hedges, or other plant material block sidewalks, sight…

Knoxville property owners must prune trees bordering streets to keep at least 8 feet of clearance over sidewalks and 12…

Memphis bars topping any public tree and requires that any pruning done to fix a safety hazard, protect power lines, or…

Trees and shrubs on public or private property in Murfreesboro must leave seven feet of clearance over sidewalks and…

The Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code requires pruning of required landscape trees to follow ANSI A300…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution caps landscaping height at 30 inches inside the vision triangle at every street…

The Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code requires a tree removal permit or an approved alternative before…

Champion, landmark, and historic trees within Knoxville can't be removed or cut back more than 20 percent without an…

Removing a retained, protected, or heritage tree in Metro Nashville requires a zoning administrator permit backed by a…

Chattanooga can order a private property owner to remove dead or diseased trees that endanger life, property, or nearby…

When a city department or utility removes a city public tree it must replant caliper for caliper. A homeowner who…

Franklin requires two caliper inches of replacement trees for every caliper inch of specimen tree removed, planted…

When a commercial or multi-family project in unincorporated Hamilton County uses existing woodland along the street…

Hendersonville requires a Tree Removal Permit before cutting any tree 10 inches DBH or larger on commercial or…

Knox County does not require homeowners to get a permit to remove trees from their own property. Tree preservation is…

Murfreesboro requires a City Arborist permit before anyone plants, prunes, removes, or otherwise disturbs a tree in a…

Once a tree in unincorporated Rutherford County is designated on an approved tree preservation plan, Zoning Ordinance…

Sumner County requires a certified arborist-reviewed tree preservation plan before a developer can claim credit for…

Williamson County's Zoning Ordinance bars clearing land on a proposed development site until the project is approved…

Memphis's tree ordinance, Chapter 12-70 of the Code, creates the seven-member Memphis Tree Board to advise on planting…

Inside an approved Open Space Residential Development, Sullivan County bars clearing any tree over six inches in…

Tennessee imposes no statewide duty to cut weeds already growing on your land. Instead, Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs…

Shelby County Code section 44-88(b) prohibits allowing high weeds or grass to accumulate so as to permit urban blight…

A separate, older Chattanooga nuisance provision also caps weeds at 10 inches: growth over that height, or that breeds…

Franklin requires every property owner or tenant to periodically cut grass and other weeds, and makes it unlawful to…

Beyond a bare height limit, Hendersonville's weed ordinance bans noxious weeds outright, exempts cultivated gardens…

In unincorporated Knox County, grass and weeds overgrown by more than 12 inches in a residential area violate the…

Grass, weeds, and other vegetation on Knoxville property can't top 12 inches: anything taller is presumed a public…

Memphis caps weeds, rank grass and noxious growth at 12 inches on lots up to two acres, and at six inches on grass…

Murfreesboro caps weeds, rank grass, and noxious growth at 12 inches on small tracts, house lawns and unimproved lots…

Metro Nashville caps weeds and grass at 12 inches on any property; taller growth is a public nuisance enforced by the…

Unincorporated Rutherford County's Tall Weeds and Grass Ordinance keeps grass and weeds below fifteen inches on lots of…

Lawn watering isn't banned in Franklin by default, but once the mayor declares a Water Shortage Emergency the city can…

Murfreesboro doesn't restrict lawn watering day-to-day, but once the Mayor or City Council declares a water shortage…

Metro Water Services' director can ban outdoor sprinkling with hose or wagon anytime the water system's condition makes…

New commercial, industrial, multi-family, and institutional landscaping in Hendersonville must have an automatic…

Rutherford County and its water providers have not imposed mandatory watering restrictions; conservation is voluntary…

In Knoxville's South Waterfront form-based code district, which includes the Old Sevier and Scottish Pike (SW1)…

Clarksville's code has no rain barrel or rainwater harvesting provision and requires no permit. Two existing rules…

Nashville allows natural landscaping in place of a mowed lawn only if the design is filed with and approved by the…

No Clarksville ordinance authorizes or restricts a native-plant yard, and no registration exists. Section 8-107 still…

Williamson County's landscaping ordinance requires at least 40 percent of all required landscaping or bufferyard…

Chattanooga generally requires grass and weeds kept under 10 inches, but Sec. 21-136(d) exempts City approved RainSmart…

Knox County's Lot Cleanliness chapter carves out a defined 'Natural Landscaped Area' of native plants from its weed and…

The Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code favors native landscaping, directing that trees and shrubs be…

Clarksville's Code of Ordinances and Zoning Ordinance contain no artificial or synthetic turf provision. The…

Knoxville's zoning code lets homeowners compost in their own backyard, but Article 10, Section 10.3.I of Appendix B…

Hendersonville's zoning code allows compost piles only in the rear yard; the permitted-encroachments table marks them…