Mendocino County, CA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Two County Code chapters apply to vacant and unimproved lots in unincorporated Mendocino County. Chapter 8.77 (Hazardous Vegetation, Combustible Material, Rubbish, and Weeds), adopted by Ordinance 4485 in 2021, makes it a public nuisance to maintain any property so that it contributes to the existence of combustible material, rubbish, hazardous vegetation, or weeds that constitute a fire hazard, as determined by the County Building Official. 'Rubbish' is defined broadly to include litter, crates, cartons, tires, construction waste, discarded consumer goods, and similar materials that by reason of location, character, and accumulated size constitute a fire hazard. Chapter 8.75 separately declares illegally dumped solid waste a nuisance, including 'the unlawful disposal or burying of solid waste' and depositing waste on premises without the owner's permission. The County may require corrective action, and an attractive nuisance such as an abandoned well, shaft, septic tank, or excavation on an unoccupied lot is specifically listed as a nuisance in Section 8.75.040(H). There is no county-wide schedule of grass heights for rural land; rangeland, pasture, forestland, and active agricultural crops are excluded from the hazardous-vegetation definition except where they affect defensible space around structures and roads.