9 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Tulare County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated Tulare County sets no uniform residential grass-height limit. Instead, Part IV, Chapter 11 (Fire Hazardous Weeds and Rubbish) lets the County Fire Chief declare overgrown grass a public nuisance when it creates a fire hazard, with mowed fuelbreaks required under the County's Hazard Abatement Program.
Tulare County Ordinance Code Part IV, Chapter 11 (Fire Hazardous Weeds and Rubbish), Definitions
"Grass" means any herbaceous plant which is cultivated and which attains, when mature, if uncontrolled, such a height as to be a medium for the rapid spread of fire. "Weed" means any plant, whether herbaceous or woody and of whatever height, except a tree, which grows wild.
Unincorporated Tulare County has no general tree-trimming permit for private trees, but fire-safety clearance applies: Part IV, Chapter 11 covers fire-hazard vegetation, and California PRC sec. 4291 requires limbing and clearing within defensible space in State Responsibility Areas. Trees in the County road right-of-way require an encroachment permit.
Tulare County Ordinance Code, Part III, Chapter 7 (Obstruction and Improper Use of Streets and Highways)
It is unlawful for any person to tie, hitch or fasten animals so as to injure or cause to be injured any fruit, shade or ornamental tree growing on or adjacent to any public road, street, alley or place in any unincorporated town or village in the County.
Unincorporated Tulare County has no general tree-removal or heritage-tree permit ordinance and no oak-woodland conservation ordinance. Removing trees on private rural property is largely unregulated, except where fire-clearance rules apply, the tree is in the road right-of-way, or removal is part of a discretionary development project subject to General Plan habitat policies.
Part IV, Chapter 11 of the Tulare County Ordinance Code declares weeds, grass, rank growths, and combustible rubbish that create a fire hazard on private property in the unincorporated county a public nuisance, abatable by the County Fire Chief at the owner's expense after notice.
Tulare County Ordinance Code sec. 4-11-1065 (Fire Hazardous Weeds and Rubbish - Nuisance Declared)
Weeds, grass, rank growths and combustible rubbish growing or accumulating upon private property which do, or will when dry, create a fire hazard and which by virtue thereof constitute a danger to neighboring property or the health or welfare of residents of the vicinity are hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
Unincorporated Tulare County adopted its own Water Efficient Landscaping ordinance (Part VII, Chapter 31) in lieu of the State model, requiring a landscape documentation package for new development. Customers of County-run water systems also face staged outdoor-watering restrictions. Statewide SWRCB rules apply on top of these.
Tulare County Ordinance Code Part VII, Chapter 31 (Water Efficient Landscaping)
Distribution uniformity provides a measurement of how evenly water is applied to an irrigated area... For the purposes of this Chapter, distribution uniformity is to exceed 60 percent. A landscape documentation package conforming to this chapter shall be submitted to the County of Tulare as part of the building permit application, and no permit shall be issued until the County Director of Plann...
Tulare County has no specific ordinance restricting residential rainwater harvesting. Capturing rooftop rainwater for outdoor, non-potable use in rain barrels or cisterns is allowed under California's Rainwater Capture Act of 2012, which exempts such use from the State Water Board's water-rights permit requirement.
Unincorporated Tulare County does not mandate native plants, but its Water Efficient Landscaping ordinance (Part VII, Chapter 31) promotes xeriscape and water-efficient planting for new development. The State's MWELO framework similarly encourages natives and climate-appropriate species and caps residential turf area.
Unincorporated Tulare County has no ordinance banning artificial turf, and California Civil Code sec. 4735 prevents HOAs from prohibiting drought-tolerant or artificial-turf landscaping. New state law (AB 1572) also phases out irrigation of nonfunctional natural turf with potable water - which can push owners toward turf alternatives.
Residential composting in unincorporated Tulare County is shaped mainly by California's SB 1383 organic-waste recycling law, in effect since January 1, 2022. Jurisdictions must provide organics collection, but backyard (on-site) composting is an allowed way for residents to manage their own organic waste.
2 cities in Tulare County have their own landscaping rules rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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