Colusa County, CA Environmental Rules: Defensible Space (2026)
Key Facts
- State law incorporated
- Public Resources Code § 4291
- Defensible space
- up to 100 feet
- Zone 1
- 0-30 ft, aggressive clearing
- Zone 2
- 30-100 ft, fuel spacing
- Trigger size
- landscape 2,500+ sq ft
- Local citation
- Zoning Code § 44-3.10.020(F)
Summary
Unincorporated Colusa County's Zoning Code ties its landscaping standards to state defensible-space law. Section 44-3.10.020(F) requires a defensible space or zone around a building or structure under Public Resources Code Section 4291(a) and (b) for qualifying landscape projects, and directs that fire-prone plants and highly flammable mulches be avoided in fire-prone areas.
F. Public Safety. Plant species should be selected and located so that at maturity they do not interfere with pedestrian, bicycle, or vehicular circulation and do not conflict with overhead lights or utility lines. Landscaping in fire-prone areas should address fire safety and prevention. A defensible space or zone around a building or structure is required per Public Resources Code Section 4291(a) and (b). Avoid fire-prone plant materials and highly flammable mulches.
Full Breakdown
020(F), part of the county's General Landscape Guidelines, folds Public Resources Code Section 4291 into local landscape review. PRC 4291 requires property owners on land classified as mountainous, forest, brush or grass-covered, generally within State Responsibility Areas, to maintain up to 100 feet of defensible space around habitable structures, capped at the property line: an aggressively cleared Zone 1 out to 30 feet and a thinned, spaced Zone 2 running from 30 to 100 feet. 010, which reaches new construction or rehabilitated landscapes of 2,500 square feet or more needing a building permit, plan check or zoning permit, in the urban residential (R-1 to R-4), commercial (C-1, C-2, C-H, C-R, MU), industrial (M-1, M-2, RD) and recreational (G-R) zones.
The same subsection also directs that plant species be chosen and placed so they will not, at maturity, block pedestrian, bicycle or vehicular circulation or conflict with overhead lines, and that landscaping in fire-prone areas avoid fire-prone plant materials and highly flammable mulches. Landscape plans for covered projects go to the Department of Planning and Building, with the review authority for the permit, the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission, signing off before work begins.
Violations & Fines
Failing to meet the PRC 4291 defensible-space duty carries state consequences on top of any local permit hold: Public Resources Code Section 4291 authorizes the local fire authority to inspect and, after notice, abate the fire hazard at the owner's expense. Locally, a landscape plan that ignores Section 44-3.10.020(F) can be held at plan check by the Department of Planning and Building, and an unpermitted or noncompliant development falls under the Zoning Code's general enforcement at Section 44-1.130.030: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, up to six months in jail, or both, plus mandatory abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does unincorporated Colusa County require defensible space around homes?
How much defensible space does state law require?
What happens if defensible space isn't maintained?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Colusa County
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