Calaveras County, CA Landscaping Rules: Grass Height Limits (2026)

Unincorporated Calaveras County has no general ordinance setting a maximum lawn or grass height for aesthetic or nuisance reasons. The County's Code Compliance division states plainly that it does not enforce overgrown vegetation and recommends residents keep property clear of fire hazards and contact their fire department. The operative control on tall, dry grass is California Public Resources Code Section 4291, which requires 100 feet of defensible space around structures in State Responsibility Areas (most of rural Calaveras). Within that zone, guidance applied by CAL FIRE and the County Fire Prevention office (891 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas) calls for cutting annual grasses and weeds to a maximum height of about 4 inches, with a 30-foot lean-clean-green zone nearest the home and a 70-foot reduced-fuel zone beyond. Calaveras County's adopted Zoning Code also requires defensible space consistent with the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations (14 CCR, Subchapter 2, Articles 1-5) for development. So a homeowner with knee-high dry grass is unlikely to be cited by Code Compliance, but can receive a defensible-space order from the fire agency, especially within a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.