Glendale, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

Subdivision (a) of Sec. 4291 imposes four separate, ongoing duties on a person who owns, leases, controls, operates or maintains a building in the state responsibility area, of which the well-known 100-foot defensible-space clearance is only the first. Paragraph (2) requires removal of any part of a tree that comes within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe outlet. Paragraph (3) requires that any tree, shrub or other plant touching or overhanging the building be kept free of dead or dying wood. Paragraph (4) requires the roof itself to be kept clear of leaves, needles or other vegetative material that could carry an ember into the structure.

Before a new building is constructed, or an existing one is rebuilt after fire damage, in an area covered by the section, paragraph (5) requires the owner to obtain the local building official's certification of compliance with applicable state and local building standards, including Government Code Sec. 51189(b), and to hand a copy to any insurer providing course-of-construction coverage; a second, post-completion certification and final inspection report goes to the property insurer. Subdivision (b) excuses a person who lacks the legal right to manage fuels or enter another owner's land without consent, and subdivision (c) lets the State Fire Marshal exempt structures built entirely of nonflammable materials or vary the clearance requirements based on a structure's contents and construction, once the occupant consents in writing to an interior inspection. The section was last amended by Statutes 2025, chapter 731 (AB 1455), effective October 13, 2025.