Landscaping Rules in La Mesa, CA (2026)
4 verified landscaping rules for La Mesa, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
In the City of La Mesa, the city traffic engineer can order a hedge, shrub, or tree in a parkway cut back or removed under La Mesa Municipal Code Section 12.52.060 whenever it obstructs the view of an intersection or approaching traffic, the same authority used to red-curb or sign a spot where a parked vehicle blocks sightlines.
La Mesa Intersection Sightline Tree Rule
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code § 12.52.060
Whenever the city traffic engineer finds that any hedge, shrubbery or tree growing in a parkway, or any vehicle parked along the curb, obstructs the view of any intersection, or any traffic upon the streets approaching such intersection, he shall cause the hedge, shrubbery or tree to be immediately removed or reduced in height, or, if the visibility obstruction is due to a parked vehicle, the c...
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
In the City of La Mesa's Scenic Preservation Overlay Zone, grading or land-surface work that would remove trees needs Planning Commission approval first. Municipal Code section 24.09.020 requires review before construction, excavation, or filling on a scenic-zone parcel removes trees, alters watercourses, or creates an earth bank over three feet high; section 24.09.040 then requires a landscaping plan showing exactly which trees come out and how each is replaced.
Tree Removal Permit in La Mesa's Scenic Zone
Significant RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code §§ 24.09.020, 24.09.040
A.The improvement of the building site either initially or after a principal use has been established shall not involve alteration of the surface of the land by construction, excavation, filling, or otherwise, through which trees would be removed, water courses would be altered, or earth banks exceeding 3 feet in height would be created unless the development is first submitted to and approved ...
Weed Ordinances
La Mesa Municipal Code section 10.40.070 makes weed and dry-grass abatement a duty of the property owner: once the fire chief's office issues a notice to abate a weed nuisance under Chapter 10.40, the owner, agent or person in control has thirty days, or ten days after a final appeal, to clear it themselves. Owners who let the city hire a contractor instead are jointly and severally billed for the abatement, administrative costs and attorneys' fees.
La Mesa Duty to Remove Weeds and Nuisance
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code § 10.40.070
It shall be the duty of the owner, the agent of the owner, or the person in possession or control of any lot, property or premises in the city, within thirty days from the date of notification as provided in this chapter, or in case of an appeal, within ten days from the final determination thereof, unless the same is sustained, to remove the nuisance as stated in the notice to abate. Once it h...
Water Restrictions
La Mesa Municipal Code section 14.29.200 bars anyone from irrigating a covered landscape so that runoff, low head drainage or overspray sends water onto adjacent property, unirrigated ground, structures, walkways, roadways or other paved surfaces, and bars using more water than the site's maximum applied water allowance. The chapter applies to new commercial, institutional, multi-family and larger single-family landscaping projects under section 14.29.030, implementing the state Water Conservation in Landscaping Act citywide.
La Mesa Irrigation Runoff and Water-Use Limit
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code §§ 14.29.030, 14.29.200
(a)This chapter shall apply to the following projects which require a building permit or a discretionary permit:(1)A project for an industrial, commercial, institutional or multi-family residential use where the landscaped area is greater than or equal to two thousand five hundred square feet. ... (a)No person shall use water for irrigation that due to runoff, low head drainage, overspray or ot...
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