El Cajon, CA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

72 defines "litter" to include garbage, hazardous containers, rubbish, and weeds, meaning dry grass, stubble, brush, or other growth that creates a fire menace or is otherwise noxious or dangerous. 080's ban on occupied property, which allows an owner to maintain authorized receptacles. 120 bars maintaining weeds, dry grasses, or dead vegetation that constitutes a fire hazard. 130 to remove litter or destroy hazardous growth; notice must be served personally or by certified or registered mail describing the property and citing the chapter. An owner has ten days to appeal a removal notice to the city council, which must hold a hearing within fifteen to thirty days of service, and otherwise has thirty days from the notice, or from a denied appeal, to comply.

If the owner fails to comply, the fire chief or building inspector can have the work done, and the city bills the actual cost plus an administrative charge to the owner. If that bill goes unpaid within thirty days, the city clerk sets a hearing before the council, which can confirm the charge as a special assessment recorded on the assessment roll, creating a lien on the property.