Outdoor burning rules in Cupertino, CA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Open outdoor burning of yard waste and refuse is effectively prohibited in Cupertino. Bay Area Air Quality Management District Regulation 5 bans residential yard-waste burning year-round, and the adopted California Fire Code requires a fire-code-official permit for any allowed open burning.
Two overlapping authorities govern outdoor burning. First, BAAQMD Regulation 5 prohibits open burning across the Bay Area except for narrow agricultural and hazard-reduction categories on designated permissive burn days; burning residential yard waste such as leaves, grass, and garden trimmings is not allowed even with a notification form. Second, Cupertino adopts California Fire Code Section 307 through Municipal Code Chapter 16.40, which requires a permit from the fire code official before kindling open burning, bonfires, or fires for silvicultural, disease, or pest-control purposes, and requires open burning to be at least 50 feet from any structure. Cupertino did not amend Section 307, so the state text applies. The Santa Clara County Fire Department is the permitting fire authority.
Illegal open burning can draw enforcement from both the Santa Clara County Fire Department (Fire Code permit violation) and BAAQMD (air-quality violation with civil penalties). Residents should compost or use green-waste collection rather than burn yard debris.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Under California's SB 1383, Cupertino residents and businesses must keep food scraps and yard trimmings out of the trash and use Recology South Bay's organic...
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Artificial turf is not counted as drought-tolerant landscaping in California, and under SB 676 (Government Code 53087.7) cities like Cupertino may regulate s...
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Cupertino's Water-Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Municipal Code Chapter 14.15) implements California's MWELO and caps turf at 25% of landscape area, favoring...
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Cupertino places no ban on residential rainwater harvesting and actively encourages on-site rainwater and graywater capture in its Water-Efficient Landscape ...
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Cupertino has permanent water-waste prohibitions under Municipal Code Chapter 15.32, banning runoff, hosing pavement, and un-nozzled hoses. Water is supplied...
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Cupertino declares overgrown weeds and dry brush a fire nuisance under Municipal Code Chapter 9.08, enforced through a Santa Clara County weed abatement prog...
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