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

Unlike many cities, the County does not enforce a routine aesthetic grass-height limit on residential lawns in the unincorporated areas. The controlling rule is fire-driven. The Ventura County Fire Protection District (VCFPD), which provides fire protection across the unincorporated County under its adopted Fire Code (Ordinance No. 32, California Fire Code Chapter 49), requires property owners to abate flammable vegetation. Guidance applied by VCFD-permitted clearance contractors states that grass shall be cut to roughly three inches in height and native brush reduced in quantity to about three inches, with individual shrubs spaced apart. Year-round compliance is expected within 200 feet of any structure (including on adjoining property) and within 10 feet of any combustible fence or roadway/driveway used for vehicular travel. This overlaps with California Public Resources Code section 4291, the statewide 100-foot defensible-space mandate, under which dry annual grass is generally mowed to a maximum height of four inches. Tall, dead, or dry grass that creates a fire hazard can trigger a Fire Hazard Reduction Program (FHRP) abatement notice. Owners who do not clear the hazard may be charged abatement costs as an assessment against the property. Living, irrigated, well-maintained lawns are not the target; the rules focus on dead, dry, and overgrown fuels.