Washoe is a real wildfire county. TMFPD requires defensible space around structures: a 30-foot vegetation buffer in a moderate hazard zone, 50 feet in a high zone, and 100 feet in an extreme zone, under the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code.
Under the WUI Code adopted by TMFPD (Table 603.2), homeowners must maintain a buffer between structures and hazardous vegetation based on their wildfire hazard zone: 30 feet moderate, 50 feet high, 100 feet extreme. Distances may be increased by site-specific analysis. Tree crowns within 10 feet of any structure must be pruned to keep 10 feet of horizontal clearance, and crowns within the defensible space must be limbed up to remove branches below 6 feet from the ground. If defensible space was required when a building was constructed, it must be maintained for the life of the building. Check your parcel's hazard zone at the Washoe County fire-hazard GIS map.
Handled under the Washoe County Nuisance Code (WCC Ch. 50). Enforcement typically follows a complaint: education, then an order to abate hazardous vegetation, with abatement costs charged to the owner.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Washoe County, NV
Home composting is allowed in unincorporated Washoe County. There is no dedicated composting permit, but a pile that creates odor, attracts vermin, or become...
Washoe County, NV
Unincorporated Washoe County has no ordinance prohibiting or specially regulating artificial turf on residential property. It is a common water-saving choice...
Washoe County, NV
Washoe County does not require native plants, but its arid high-desert setting and TMWA's conservation program strongly encourage drought-tolerant, water-wis...
Washoe County, NV
Rainwater harvesting is legal statewide. Nevada NRS 533.027 allows de minimis collection of precipitation from the rooftop of a single-family dwelling for no...
Washoe County, NV
There is no county watering schedule. In the Truckee Meadows, Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) assigns sprinkler days by address: odd addresses water W...
Washoe County, NV
Unincorporated Washoe County has no local weed ordinance. Noxious weeds are governed statewide by NRS Chapter 555: landowners must control designated noxious...
See how Washoe County's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
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