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

Unincorporated Madera County does not impose a turf-grass height cap on a maintained ornamental lawn. Instead, vegetation height is regulated where it becomes a fire and public-health hazard, through the County's Weed Abatement ordinance in Madera County Code Title 7 (Health and Sanitation), Chapter 7.26. The County has declared the growth and accumulation of weeds in the unincorporated areas a fire, safety, and public-health risk and a seasonal, recurring nuisance. The clearance rules are tied to whether a parcel is vacant or improved rather than to a single grass-height number. For vacant lots, a strip thirty feet wide from each property line and street frontage must be cleared of weeds. For improved lots, a thirty-foot strip surrounding the entire exterior of any improvement must be cleared (or up to the property line where an improvement sits within thirty feet of it). As an alternative for improved lots less than three acres in area, the County code allows the owner to mow the entire lot to within one-half inch to one inch of the ground and maintain that height throughout the fire season. The Madera County Fire Department administers the program. Because the cities of Madera and Chowchilla set their own rules, these height-and-clearance requirements apply only in the unincorporated county.