Salt Lake County, UT Environmental Rules: Defensible Space (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit for WUI-required clearing
- Not required
- Exceeding WUI minimum
- Triggers § 19.72.110 permit
- Stream buffer
- No clearing within 50 ft
- Code adopted
- 2006 Utah WUI Code
Summary
No permit is needed to create or maintain the defensible space Utah's Wildland-Urban Interface Code requires around structures in Salt Lake County's foothills and canyons.
E.Permits for Creating and Maintaining Defensible Space. No permit is required to create or maintain defensible space that the Wildland-Urban Interface Code requires. However, to the extent creation or maintaining defensible space results in removal of more vegetation than is required by WUI, the person responsible for such removal is subject to the applicable requirements and penalties of Salt Lake County Code section 19.72.110.F.Defensible Space Near Streams. Defensible space shall not be created or maintained within fifty feet of the ordinary high-water mark of an ephemeral or perennial stream as defined in Salt Lake County Foothills and Canyons Overlay Zone.G.Inconsistencies Between WUI and Salt Lake County Code. If there are any inconsistencies between the Wildland Urban interface Code and the Salt Lake County Code, the more restrictive provision shall apply. (Ord. No. 1929, § II, 9-17-2024; Ord. No. 1811, § II, 4-18-2017)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
Section 9.90.025(E) exempts defensible-space creation and maintenance from county permitting when it matches what the Wildland-Urban Interface Code (2006 edition, adopted by reference) requires. Clearing more vegetation than the WUI Code mandates instead triggers the vegetation-removal permit and penalties in Section 19.72.110. Defensible space also cannot be created within 50 feet of a stream's ordinary high-water mark under Section 9.90.025(F).
Violations & Fines
Removing vegetation beyond what the WUI Code requires for defensible space, without complying with Section 19.72.110, can trigger tree-value restitution and Class B misdemeanor penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a county permit to clear defensible space around my house?
Can I clear brush all the way to a stream for defensible space?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake County
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