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

Imperial County's vegetation rule is the weed-abatement ordinance in Title 9, Division 18 of the Land Use Ordinance, not a lawn-height code. Section 91801.01 states it is unlawful for the owner or occupant of any land, lot, yard, or tract in an unincorporated area to cause or allow the premises to become overgrown and infested with weeds and other vegetation. 'Weeds and other vegetation' is defined in §91801.00 to include sagebrush, chaparral, or any brush or weeds that grow so large as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property, plus vegetation that is otherwise noxious or dangerous. The county did not adopt a single 'cut grass to X inches' threshold the way some cities do. The desert climate, irrigated by Colorado River/IID water, means dry annual grasses and tumbleweed are the main fire and nuisance concern. For structures in or near wildland fuels, the separate state defensible-space rule under Public Resources Code §4291 applies and CAL FIRE guidance directs cutting annual grasses to about four inches, but that is state law, not a county grass ordinance. Routine yard maintenance for an owner-occupied single-family home is otherwise governed by the nuisance and weed standards rather than a measured height.