Anaheim Weed Ordinances Rules (2026): What You Need to Know

The City of Anaheim addresses weed control through two complementary regulatory mechanisms: the city's own property maintenance and nuisance abatement standards in Municipal Code Title 6 (Sanitation and Health), and the Orange County Fire Authority's seasonal weed abatement program. Together, these programs ensure that weeds are controlled on both developed and undeveloped properties throughout the city's approximately 50 square miles. Anaheim's location in the Southern California coastal basin produces a Mediterranean climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. Winter and spring rains stimulate prolific weed growth that dries out by late May or June, transforming uncleared vegetation into a significant fire fuel load — a particular concern given Anaheim's proximity to the hillside wildland-urban interface areas in Anaheim Hills.

For developed residential properties, the Anaheim Code Enforcement Division enforces weed control as part of the broader property maintenance standard. Weeds growing in yards, driveways, walkways, planters, and the parkway strip between the sidewalk and curb are the responsibility of the property owner. Conditions that involve weeds sufficiently overgrown to harbor pests, obstruct pedestrian paths, or materially degrade the appearance of the neighborhood are treated as nuisance violations subject to administrative citation. Property owners who receive a notice of violation are given a correction period — typically 10 to 30 days — to clear the weeds. If the violation is not corrected, the city may proceed with forced abatement, hiring a contractor to clear the property and billing the owner for the cost plus a 25 percent administrative surcharge, which is placed as a lien against the property.

The OCFA weed abatement program focuses primarily on vacant, unimproved, and fire-prone lots. Each spring, OCFA inspectors survey properties within the fire authority's jurisdiction, which includes Anaheim, and mail notices of non-compliance to owners of lots where weed growth exceeds acceptable thresholds — generally 4 inches during fire season. Property owners must clear the weeds to bare soil or a closely mowed condition by the date specified in the notice, typically by mid-June. If the owner fails to comply, OCFA arranges for a contractor to clear the lot and bills the property owner. Unpaid abatement costs, plus administrative fees, are placed as a special assessment lien on the property and collected through the Orange County property tax roll.

Anaheim encourages proactive weed management through community education, neighborhood cleanup events, and by recommending that property owners maintain a defensible space buffer around structures. For residents in the Anaheim Hills area and other hillside neighborhoods, OCFA defensible-space requirements may mandate clearing all combustible vegetation within 100 feet of structures in accordance with California Public Resources Code Section 4291. Contact the Anaheim Code Enforcement Division at (714) 765-5158 for city nuisance complaints or the OCFA at (714) 573-6000 for fire-hazard weed abatement inquiries.