Nevada County, CA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

There is no county ordinance regulating how tall an ordinary residential lawn may grow for appearance. In unincorporated Nevada County, grass and weed height is controlled only as a wildfire-fuel issue. K of the Hazardous Vegetation Abatement ordinance defines a 'Fuel Modification Area' as a strip of land where the owner must 'cut and remove all weeds and grasses down to four (4) inches or lower' and prune ladder fuels up to ten (10) feet. This four-inch standard mirrors California Public Resources Code 4291, which CAL FIRE applies in State Responsibility Areas: in Zone 2 (30-100 feet from a structure) annual grass must be trimmed to a maximum height of four inches.

The County ordinance (Sec. 4) declares hazardous vegetation within 100 feet of a structure, or along ingress/egress roadways, a public nuisance. So the practical rule for most rural parcels is: tall dry grass near homes, structures, and roads must be cut and maintained; grass far from any structure and not near a road is generally not regulated for height. Cultivated green ground-cover such as ivy, succulents, or watered green grass is exempt under Sec. a as long as it is not a fire hazard.