Most of Union City is flat Bay-plain with no wildfire designation, but the eastern hills bordering Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Parks form a wildland-urban interface. CAL FIRE's 2025 Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps designate fire hazard zones in that part of the city.
CAL FIRE and the Office of the State Fire Marshal designate Fire Hazard Severity Zones (Moderate, High, Very High) based on wildland factors such as fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and wind-driven ember spread. Most of Union City sits on flat San Francisco Bay plain with little wildland fuel and no significant slope, so the developed western and central city is not in a fire hazard severity zone. However, the eastern edge of the city rises into the hills where Union City meets Hayward, bordering the East Bay Regional Park District's Garin and Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Parks (rolling hills, grassland, and woodland) near the May Road area. This eastern hillside is a wildland-urban interface. On February 24, 2025, the
In designated fire hazard severity zones, failing to maintain required defensible space or comply with WUI building standards can bring enforcement and abatement by the Alameda County Fire Department and the City. Outside the mapped zones (most of the flat
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Union City does not restrict backyard composting, and its Water Efficient Landscape ordinance (UCMC 18.112) requires compost in permitted landscape installat...
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Union City has no ordinance banning artificial turf on private property, and California Civil Code 4735 voids HOA rules prohibiting synthetic grass. For perm...
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Union City's Water Efficient Landscape ordinance (UCMC Chapter 18.112) implements California's MWELO. New landscapes of 500+ sq ft and rehab projects of 2,50...
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Union City does not prohibit residential rainwater capture. California's Rainwater Capture Act allows rooftop collection without a water right, and the City'...
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Union City's water purveyor is the Alameda County Water District (ACWD), serving the Tri-City area. ACWD enforces permanent water-waste prohibitions year-rou...
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All weeds on streets, sidewalks, and private property in Union City are declared a public nuisance under UCMC Chapter 7.08. The Fire Chief gives a ten-day no...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Alameda County.
See how other cities in Alameda County handle wildfire zones.
See how Union City's wildfire zones rules stack up against other locations.
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