9 rules for unincorporated Glenn County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated Glenn County does set a numeric vegetation-height standard. Its nuisance code makes premises with 'weeds over three inches tall' a public nuisance when they harm the public or create blight, and the Weed Control chapter (7.28) treats weeds over three inches tall as a violation. Overgrown grass/weeds can be ordered abated at the owner's cost.
Glenn County regulates tree trimming mainly where it affects roads and neighbors. Trimming or cutting any tree within a county road right-of-way requires an encroachment permit (Code 15.12.010). On private property, the nuisance code requires trees be kept clear seven feet over sidewalks and fourteen feet over streets, and low branches that block road-intersection visibility are a nuisance.
Unincorporated Glenn County has no general private-property tree-removal permit or heritage-tree ordinance. The county's only tree-removal permitting is for trees in a county road right-of-way: removing, cutting down or destroying any tree there requires an encroachment permit and is otherwise a misdemeanor (Code 15.12.010). Removing trees on your own land is generally not regulated by the county.
Glenn County has a real weed-abatement ordinance: Glenn County Code Chapter 7.28 (Weed Control), adopted under California Health & Safety Code 14930-14931 and amended by Ordinance 1334 in 2025. It declares overgrown, dry or hazardous weeds, brush, rubbish and noxious vegetation a public nuisance, lets the county notice and abate them, and recovers abatement costs as a property lien.
Unincorporated Glenn County has no county-run drought or lawn-watering program, but two layers of rules apply. The county nuisance code requires residential landscaping be watered enough to prevent fire-hazard dead lawns, except during imposed water rationing. Statewide, the California State Water Board's permanent water-waste prohibitions ban runoff, hosing pavement and nozzle-less car washing.
Unincorporated Glenn County has no ordinance on rainwater harvesting, rain barrels or cisterns; the terms do not appear in the county code. Collecting rooftop rainwater is governed by California state law, which broadly allows residential rain-barrel capture without a water-right permit and treats larger systems under the plumbing code.
Unincorporated Glenn County does not require, restrict or list native plants; there is no native-plant or drought-tolerant-landscaping mandate in the county code. New larger landscapes must follow California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, and state law protects a homeowner's right to choose low-water and native plantings over a fining HOA.
Unincorporated Glenn County has no ordinance on artificial or synthetic turf; the terms do not appear in the county code as a regulated landscaping material. Installation is therefore generally allowed subject to normal building and drainage rules, and California state law protects a homeowner's right to install artificial turf over an objecting HOA.
Glenn County has adopted an SB 1383 organic-waste ordinance (Code Chapter 7.08, Article II.V) requiring residents and businesses to keep food scraps and yard/green waste out of the trash and use organics collection. The chapter also recognizes community composting and ties qualifying landscape projects to MWELO compost-and-mulch use. Backyard composting remains an allowed self-hauling alternative.
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