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

Mono County does not regulate ornamental lawn height for aesthetic reasons. Where height matters, it is a wildfire-fuel rule. Mono County's Fire Safe Regulation (General Plan Land Development Regulations, Chapter 22) defines a 'firebreak' within 30 feet of an occupied dwelling, where all flammable vegetation or combustible growth must be removed, and a 'reduced-fuel zone' from 30 to 100 feet, where brush and flammable growth must be removed but 'grass and other vegetation located more than 30 feet from the dwelling or structure and less than 18 inches in height above the ground may be maintained' for soil stabilization. Separately, California Public Resources Code 4291 applies countywide in the State Responsibility Area: owners must maintain up to 100 feet of defensible space, and CAL FIRE guidance reads this as cutting or mowing annual grass to a maximum height of four inches. Because most of unincorporated Mono County is high-desert sage, forest, or federal/LADWP land in the State Responsibility Area, PRC 4291 and Chapter 22 are the practical height standards rather than any turf rule.