Montebello requires property owners to clear weeds, dry grass, and other fire-hazard vegetation as a public nuisance under Municipal Code Chapter 8.16. In the hillside and oil-field areas mapped as fire hazard zones, California's state defensible-space law also requires clearance around homes.
Most of Montebello is flat, built-out land, so brush clearance runs mainly through the nuisance code. Under MMC 8.16.010, overgrown vegetation, dead or hazardous trees, weeds, and vegetation that may be a fire hazard are declared public nuisances, and owners must abate them (MMC 8.16.020). The city can issue a notice to abate, then clear the vegetation and recover the cost as a lien (MMC 8.16.040, 8.16.150). Visible weeds and parkway grass are specifically prohibited (MMC 8.16.090). In the roughly 600 acres of hillside neighborhoods and the Montebello Hills oil-field area that CAL FIRE's 2022 maps rate as fire hazard zones, Public Resources Code 4291 also requires 100 feet of defensible space around structures.
Failure to abate fire-hazard vegetation after a notice lets the city do the work and lien the owner (MMC 8.16.150). A second judgment within two years can bring treble costs (MMC 8.16.170). In hazard zones, PRC 4291 also applies.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Under Municipal Code Chapter 8.13 (Ordinance No. 2445, adopted December 2021 for SB 1383), Montebello residents and businesses must separate organic waste - ...
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Montebello has no dedicated artificial-turf ordinance in its published code, so synthetic turf is reviewed under general Title 17 zoning landscape standards....
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Montebello encourages drought-tolerant and low-water landscaping. The property-maintenance ordinance expressly allows drought-tolerant ground cover and city-...
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Montebello has no ordinance prohibiting residential rainwater harvesting, and California law expressly allows rooftop capture without a water-rights permit. ...
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Montebello's water is supplied by private retailers - chiefly San Gabriel Valley Water Company, plus California Water Service and others - not a single City ...
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Montebello treats weeds and overgrown vegetation as a public nuisance under Municipal Code Chapter 8.16. Owners must remove weeds, dead or diseased plants, a...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Los Angeles County.
See how other cities in Los Angeles County handle brush clearance.
See how Montebello's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
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