Redlands, CA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Sitting against the San Bernardino foothills, Redlands enforces weed and brush abatement primarily as a wildfire-prevention measure. Municipal Code Chapter 8.40, 'Abatement of Weeds and Rubbish,' authorizes the city to declare overgrown weeds, dry brush, and rubbish a public nuisance and require their removal. In the city's designated high fire hazard areas, Community Risk Reduction (Fire) personnel conduct weed abatement inspections twice a year, and property owners are expected to clear any vegetation that can create a fire hazard and maintain defensible space around structures. The notice-and-comply process works as follows: when the director finds a nuisance, the owner is notified, the violations are described, and a reasonable abatement period of at least ten days is set for nuisances that do not involve a substandard or dangerous building. If the property fails inspection or the owner does not remove the hazard, the city has the work performed and assesses a charge against the property to cover the cost. Conditions posing an immediate hazard to public health and safety may be abated immediately by the city manager, director, police chief, or fire chief without prior notice, limited to what is reasonably necessary. This is a city ordinance distinct from San Bernardino County's program. It also operates alongside California's state defensible-space framework (Public Resources Code 4291) for properties in fire-hazard zones, though the city's published page references the California Fire Code and city inspections rather than a specific state clearance distance.