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

Butte County's authority to abate weeds, brush, and overgrown vegetation comes from three layered sources. First, California Government Code section 25845 authorizes the board of supervisors, by ordinance, to 'establish a procedure for the abatement of a nuisance,' with owner notice, an opportunity to be heard, cost recovery, and a recordable abatement lien. Second, California Health & Safety Code sections 14875-14922 set out the state weed-abatement procedure: section 14875 defines 'weeds' to include 'weeds which bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature,' brush that becomes a fire menace when dry, noxious or dangerous weeds, poison oak and poison ivy where they 'constitute a menace to the public health,' and 'dry grass, stubble, brush, litter, or other flammable material which endangers the public safety by creating a fire hazard.' Section 14930 gives the board of supervisors the power to 'compel the owner, lessee, or occupant of buildings, grounds, or lots in the county, to remove dirt, rubbish, weeds, or other rank growths from such property and adjacent sidewalks.' Third, Butte County implements those state grants through County Code Chapter 32A (Property Maintenance and Abatement of Nuisances), which declares as a nuisance anything that 'constitutes a significant detriment to the prevention or suppression of fire' (32A-2(a)(1)) and provides the notice, hearing, abatement, and lien procedure. In the State Responsibility Area - the bulk of foothill/mountain Butte County - CAL FIRE / Butte County Fire separately enforces PRC 4291 defensible-space standards, with annual inspections.