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

Unincorporated Inyo County addresses weeds and noxious or hazardous vegetation chiefly through its code-enforcement Title (Title 22). Inyo County Code section 22.08.010 defines a public nuisance broadly — including conditions injurious to health and obstructions to the free use of property, and incorporating violations of state law such as California Civil Code section 3479. Chapter 22.12 sets out administration and enforcement: a Code Compliance Officer investigates complaints, issues a Notice of Violation with a compliance deadline, and — if the owner does not abate — the County may abate the condition and recover its costs as a lien or special assessment. Separately, in fire-prone areas, California Public Resources Code section 4291 requires owners to clear flammable weeds and brush within defensible space (mowing annual grass to no more than four inches), enforced by CAL FIRE in State Responsibility Areas. The County also runs an Agricultural Commissioner program addressing invasive and noxious weeds. So the County's own 'weed ordinance' is really nuisance abatement, while the strictest clearance standard for rural parcels comes from state fire law.