Here in the UK there are no usually legal requirements, but it might be a social problem as your neighbours will not like it.
I think you undermine your argument when you don't understand the complaint. Because I'd also like to see a lot more native plants, and less manicured, mono-culture yards with poison sprayed all over them.
But at least in my area, the problem isn't "oh look a spider"... it's "oh shit, that house is collapsing because of termites", and "Oh shit, my neighbor's mom's house just burned down because rats chewed through the wiring in the walls", and "Fuck me! That's hogweed growing in that yard! Time to call the city".
Pests are a real concern - they cause lots of monetary damage, and can seriously injure or hurt people if not monitored. Does that mean we should nuke everything with chemicals and make a sterile hellscape? No - I don't think it does.
But it doesn't pay to be dismissive either.
A healthy ecosystem with owls, snakes, and coyotes will keep rodents in check. But well before that point, the ubiquitous feral domestic cats usually wreak havoc on pests and songbirds alike. Not to mention that most of the problem starts with bad food storage and waste management in the first place, not tall grasses or a few fruit trees (hence the flocks of pigeons and seagulls around parking lot dumpsters).
Plus, no one is trying to stop you from tenting houses for termites, which are meditated by landscape practices like mulch and irrigation rather than the types of plants themselves.
Native is great. I'm with you entirely.
Failure to maintain the space is not. That causes expensive and annoying problems.
My city also requires “noxious weeds” to be removed, which is a state requirement that the city inherited/adopted: https://www.mda.state.mn.us/minnesota-noxious-weed-list It’s comprised of invasive species like Japanese knotweed and buckthorn and others I am unfamiliar with. Our State Parks and also private landowners use goats to get rid of buckthorn similar to other places.
That being said, city code in my city would allow you to replace a grass law with clover or native plants/grasses or landscaping or wooded areas, etc. The code simply says “If you have a grass lawn you must cut it if the grass generates seeds or is 8” long.”
https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IPMC2024P1/chapter-3-gener...
The US is a land of individualists who also have most of their wealth tied up in their homes so property ordinances are popular, despite the “I can do whatever I want” attitude of American culture.
(See also: "World League", etc, etc ad nauseam.)
> Tall Grass and Weeds
> Weeds or grass more than eight inches high or that have gone to seed must be cut or mowed. Noxious weeds, as defined by the state Department of Agriculture, must be controlled or destroyed completely.
Source: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections/rent-b...
A lawn is not required, but if you have one, the grass must be cut if it seeds or is more than 8” long.
I don't know about other countries, but in Poland you're just not required to cut down your lawn at all, unless it's a fire hazard (you have a lot of dead and dried up plants).