Mowing
The City-Parish is authorized to remove overgrown grass or weeds in the case that a property owner or agent of a property/lot is found to be in violation of Sec. 12:351 of the Baton Rouge Code of Ordinances, which states that grass and weeds must not reach a height of more than twelve (12) inches and remain at that height (or higher) for more than two weeks.
This does not apply to land used for:
- The grazing of livestock or other agricultural purpose; or
- Tracts of land of two (2) acres or more, except for any portion of the tract which is within one hundred (100) feet of any zoning district that allows for a residential use; or
- A combination of contiguous tracts owned by the same owner totaling two (2) acres or more and which contains at least one (1) tract for which an active building permit is in effect.
If someone is found to be in violation of the tall grass/weeds ordinance as described above, the fine is $125.00 for the first violation; $250.00 for a second violation within a two-year period; and $500.00 for a third and any subsequent violations within a two-year period. As mentioned above, in addition to leveraging these fines, the City-Parish is authorized to remove the overgrown grass or weeds and levy the costs associated with such removal onto the property owner via tax lien or assessment.
For more information, please contact the City-Parish Code Enforcement division at (225) 389-8680. If you would like to make a complaint against a property owner or agent who you believe to be in violation of the above ordinance, please contact 3-1-1.
If you are contacting 3-1-1 to request mowing at a City-Parish owned facility, such as a pump station, please specify the name and location of the facility so that crews can respond appropriately to the issue.
If you would like to request mowing of overgrown grass on City-Parish property, please be prepared to specifically state the location so maintenance crews can respond appropriately; please also note that due to the nature of government-owned property, many properties that might be under the jurisdiction of the City-Parish may be directly adjacent to state-owned properties under the authority of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development; in cases where the overgrown grass is located on state-owned property, City-Parish maintenance crews are not authorized to maintain said property.
If your mowing request pertains to a canal or ditch that might impact the crew and type of equipment utilized as part of the City-Parish’s response to resolve the issue, please include this information in your 3-1-1 request and be prepared to answer questions or provide additional information related to the canal, ditch or other similar City-Parish property at issue.