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

Unincorporated Inyo County does not set a specific maximum lawn or grass height (for example, an 8-inch or 12-inch cap) the way many cities do. Instead, overgrown grass and weeds are addressed two ways. First, the County's code-enforcement framework in Title 22 declares conditions that constitute a public nuisance — including violations of the County Code and of state law such as California Civil Code section 3479 — abatable. Inyo County Code section 22.08.010 defines a nuisance to include anything injurious to health or an obstruction to the free use of property; Chapter 22.12 governs how the County investigates and abates. Second, where a parcel adjoins mountainous, forest-, shrub-, or grass-covered land, California Public Resources Code section 4291 (enforced by CAL FIRE in State Responsibility Areas) requires the property owner to maintain defensible space and to mow annual grasses to a height not exceeding four inches. So the practical 'grass height' rule for most rural Inyo parcels comes from state fire law, not a county lawn ordinance. Code enforcement is complaint-driven and emphasizes voluntary compliance before citation.