The City of Ontario's Weed & Refuse Abatement program requires that 'all brush must not exceed 6 inches in height' on vacant lots, enforced to prevent fire hazards. In parkways, Ontario Municipal Code Sec. 7-3.13 caps ground cover or shrubbery at eighteen (18) inches in height and bars dead, dying, or uncultivated vegetation under Sec. 7-3.12.
Ontario does not set a single citywide turf-lawn height number, but two standards govern overgrown vegetation. First, the City's Weed & Refuse Abatement program (a Community Development / Community Improvement function) inspects vacant lots twice yearly in spring and fall and requires that 'all brush must not exceed 6 inches in height' to prevent fire hazards posed by overgrown weeds and the accumulation of combustible materials. Second, in the public parkway, Ontario Municipal Code Sec. 7-3.13 provides that 'any ground cover or shrubbery cultivated in a parkway area shall not be permitted to grow above eighteen (18) inches in height or be permitted to spread over the adjoining pavement, curb, or sidewalk.' Section 7-3.12 (Maintenance of parkways) further requires every owner, occupant, or person in charge of property to maintain the abutting parkway 'in a safe and neat condition devoid of debris, bare dirt, dead, dying or uncultivated vegetation.' Overgrown weeds and dry grass on private lots are addressed through the weed-abatement nuisance framework in Ontario MC Chapter 6-9 rather than a fixed lawn-height ordinance.
Vacant-lot brush over 6 inches triggers the abatement process: a Notice of Violation and fee on the first inspection, then a civil penalty, re-inspection fee, and Notice of Intent to Abate on the second, after which a City contractor abates the lot at the owner's expense. Parkway violations follow Sec. 7-3.20, where noncompliance within 48 hours of notice is a separate daily offense and the City may correct the condition and levy costs against the property.
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