Palm Desert, CA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Scope
- Abandoned property: vacant or unlawfully occupied, in default or foreclosure
- Weeds and dry grass
- Property must be kept free of weeds, dry brush, dry grass, dead vegetation
- Landscaping standard
- Neighborhood standard including water and mowing
- Not landscaping
- Weeds, gravel, broken concrete, asphalt, plastic sheeting, mulch
- Penalty ladder
- One thousand, then five thousand, then twenty-five thousand dollars
- Out-of-area owners
- Local property manager, weekly inspections, posted contact sign
- Liability
- Strict liability misdemeanor
Summary
In the City of Palm Desert, California, abandoned property, including unimproved real property that is vacant and in default or foreclosure, must be kept free of weeds, dry brush, dry grass and dead vegetation. Section 8.21.030 makes violations a public nuisance, and administrative penalties climb from one thousand to five thousand to twenty-five thousand dollars.
It is declared a public nuisance for any person, partnership, association, corporation, fiduciary or other legal entity, that owns, leases, occupies, controls or manages any property to cause, permit, or maintain any property condition contrary to any provision of this chapter. Consequently, the following maintenance requirements as to any property are adopted. ... B. In addition, the property shall be kept free of weeds, dry brush, dry grass, dead vegetation, trash, junk, debris, building materials, any accumulation of newspaper, circular, flyers, notices (except those required by federal, state or local law), discarded personal items including, but not limited to, furniture, clothing, large and small appliances, printed material or any other items that give the appearance that the property is abandoned. ... D. Visible front and side yards or other property shall be landscaped and maintained to the neighborhood standard including water and mowing. ... F. Landscaping does not include weeds, gravel, broken concrete, asphalt, plastic sheeting, mulch, indoor-outdoor carpet or any similar material.
Full Breakdown
Palm Desert Municipal Code Chapter 8.21 targets abandoned properties in the City of Palm Desert, and § 8.21.030 holds the maintenance standards. The chapter's definition of property covers any unimproved or improved real property, and "abandoned" means a building, structure or real property that is vacant, or occupied without a legal right, and subject to a current notice of default, notice of trustee's sale, pending tax assessor's lien sale, a foreclosure sale acquisition, or a deed in lieu. A vacant lot that has not entered default or foreclosure is instead reached by the general nuisance list in § 8.20.020 and the vegetation rule in § 8.70.190.
Under § 8.21.030, it is a public nuisance for any person or entity that owns, leases, occupies, controls or manages property to cause, permit or maintain a condition contrary to the chapter. The property must comply with Chapter 8.20. It must also be kept free of weeds, dry brush, dry grass, dead vegetation, trash, junk, debris, building materials, accumulated newspapers and flyers, discarded personal items, and anything else that gives the appearance the property is abandoned. Visible front and side yards must be landscaped and maintained to the neighborhood standard, including water and mowing. Landscaping means grass, ground covers, bushes, shrubs, hedges, decorative rock or bark or artificial turf, and does not include weeds, gravel, broken concrete, asphalt, plastic sheeting, mulch or indoor-outdoor carpet. The one exception is property under construction or repair at least three business days per week in compliance with city permitting, at the enforcement official's reasonable discretion.
Security duties follow in § 8.21.040. A corporate or out-of-area owner, meaning more than forty driving miles away, must contract a local property management company for weekly inspections and post a sign of at least eighteen inches by twenty-four inches with a twenty-four hour contact number. Duties are joint and several among trustees and beneficiaries.
Commercial vacant lots carry a parallel duty. Section 8.19.080(M) makes the person in charge of a vacant lot keep it free of any accumulation of discarded material outside a lawful container.
Violations & Fines
Under § 8.21.060, a violation is a strict liability offense and a misdemeanor punished as provided in the municipal code. If the city abates administratively beyond Chapter 8.20, each party subject to the abatement order owes one thousand dollars on the penalty due date, five thousand dollars more if not cured by the thirtieth day after that date, and twenty-five thousand dollars more by the sixtieth day. Each penalty order is a special assessment on the property, and appeals follow Chapter 2.72.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Palm Desert require weeds to be cleared from vacant lots?
What makes a property abandoned under Chapter 8.21?
How large are the administrative penalties?
What must an out-of-area owner do?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palm Desert
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