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

The entire county is unincorporated high-elevation forest and meadow, and Alpine County does not impose a turf-grass height cap the way a suburban city would. What it regulates is dry, flammable vegetation. Alpine County Code Chapter 8.20 (Fire Restrictions and Fuels Reduction, Ord. 727, 2018) declares that fuels accumulating on lots in violation of the chapter constitute a public nuisance that the owner must abate at their own expense. Section 8.20.090 requires anyone owning a building or structure adjoining mountainous, forest-, brush-, or grass-covered land to maintain defensible space in compliance with California Public Resources Code Section 4291. Section 8.20.100(C)(2) sets the compliance deadline: fuels reduction must be accomplished by May 1st each year for areas below 6,200 feet elevation, and by June 1st for all other (higher) areas, unless an abatement order specifies a different date. Grass and other 'flammable material' within the 100-foot defensible-space envelope of a home falls squarely under these rules. Outside that envelope and away from structures, tall meadow grass is generally not regulated by the county. Statewide PRC 4291 supplies the underlying 100-foot standard (now including the Zone 0 ember-resistant 0-5 foot area added by AB 3074 and SB 504).