Yard Maintenance

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Yard Maintenance

Not only does maintaining your yard make your neighborhood look good, but it also helps maintain safety and protect the environment.

What is the Impact?

The City Code regulates yard maintenance standards for many reasons. These standards help promote public safety by maintaining visibility along streets and intersections and improve the general appearance of St. Pete neighborhoods. 

Additionally, yard debris that ends up in our streets and storm drains can cause clogs, pollution and water quality problems in our creeks, lakes and surrounding bays. These problems include fish kills, algae blooms, odors and other environmental concerns.

Be a Good Neighbor

Private property owners and occupants are responsible for routine maintenance of plant material on their property and in adjoining right-of-way areas.

YARD MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS

  • Mow the lawn so that grass is 10 inches or less in overall height and maintain ground cover plants at an overall height of 24 inches or less.
  • Edge or remove growth from driveways, sidewalks, curb lines and gutters.
  • Trim hedge heights to five feet or less in front yards on residential property. Hedges on private property are only regulated within five feet of the property line. Contact the Codes Compliance Assistance Department for more details on hedge regulations inside yards, rear yards, non-residential property or waterfront property.
  • Shrubs and trees over the public sidewalks must be trimmed up to a height of eight feet to allow motorists to see past them as well as allowing pedestrians to walk under them.
  • Remove vegetation which is hazardous (i.e., vegetation with thorns) from the right-of-way area.
  • Trim trees over the street or alley to a height of 14 feet above the street or alley surface.
  • Provide vegetative ground cover, such as grass, for all exposed sand or soil areas. Grass helps hold soil in place that might otherwise wash away. This erosion harms the property and can block City stormwater sewers.
  • City ordinance allows the use of leaf blowers and other power tools 8 a.m.—8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.—7 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

Disposal

  • Collect waste and add to compost, dispose of in the trash or drop off at one of the City’s Brush Sites found at stpete.org/BrushSites.
  • Mulch leaves into the lawn or blow them into landscape beds. They’ll decompose, returning nutrients to the soil and they can help keep sand out of the streets and stabilize loose soils.
  • If a tree must be removed, contact the City’s Urban Forester at 727-893-4249 to inquire whether a permit is required.

Enforcement

Disposing of grass clippings, tree trimmings, leaves and other vegetative material on streets, right-of-ways, waterways, other people’s property or in the City stormwater system is prohibited. City ordinances prohibit blowing or depositing leaves, yard clippings or other debris into the public right-of-way, another property, city streets, alleys or storm drains. Violating these restrictions may result in fines up to $500 for each occurrence. 

How to Get in Touch

Codes Compliance Assistance Department
727-893-7373
stpete.org/codes