Napa County Code Chapter 8.36 (Fire Protection - Fire Hazard Abatement), as amended by Ordinance 1467, requires defensible space around all structures and treats unmaintained vegetation as a public nuisance subject to abatement. California Public Resources Code Section 4291 layers state-level 100-foot clearance requirements in the State Responsibility Area.
Chapter 8.36 of the Napa County Code declares the presence of prohibited vegetative materials within the defensible space surrounding any structure, and on undeveloped parcels of one acre or less, to be a public nuisance subject to abatement. Ordinance No. 1467 (2021) updated Section 8.36.030 and adopted the county's Defensible Space Guidelines by Board resolution, aligning local rules with California Public Resources Code Section 4291 and the CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit inspection program. PRC 4291 requires 100 feet of defensible space in the State Responsibility Area: Zone 0 ember-resistant area 0-5 feet from structures (per AB 3074), Zone 1 lean-clean-green 5-30 feet, and Zone 2 reduced fuel 30-100 feet. The enforcement officer issues an order of abatement, after which the property owner has 14 calendar days to comply before the county can abate at the owner's cost. Annual LE-100 inspections occur in VHFHSZ neighborhoods following the Atlas and Glass Fires.
Failure to abate within 14 days of a Chapter 8.36 order of abatement allows Napa County to perform the work and assess the cost as a special tax lien on the property. PRC 4291 violations in the SRA are punishable by fines up to $500 per day per violation. Properties may also lose insurance coverage and face civil liability under HSC 13009 if fire spread originates from neglected fuel.
Napa County, CA
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Napa County, CA
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Napa County, CA
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Napa County, CA
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Napa County, CA
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Napa County, CA
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See how Napa County's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
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