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

Sutter County Code Chapter 600 (Fire Prevention and Regulation, readopted in its entirety by Ordinance No. 1703 on January 24, 2023) governs overgrown grass in the unincorporated county. Rather than a maximum height in inches, Section 600-250 authorizes the County Fire Services Manager to clear or order the clearing of land and to remove or order the removal of dry grass, stubble, brush, rubbish, litter, or other inflammable materials whenever, in the Manager's judgment, those materials endanger public safety by creating a fire hazard. The section expressly makes the abatement procedure of Part 5, Division 12 of the California Health and Safety Code (Sections 14875-14922) applicable in Sutter County. State law reinforces this standard: Health and Safety Code Section 14875(e) defines abatable 'weeds' to include dry grass, stubble, brush, litter, or other flammable material that endangers public safety in urbanized residential-zoned portions of an unincorporated area, and Public Resources Code Section 4291 requires 100 feet of defensible space (including managed grasses and weeds) around structures in State Responsibility Areas such as the Sutter Buttes.