San Rafael, CA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SRMC § 9.12.030
- Applies to
- Any lot, vacant or occupied
- Trigger
- Rodent, fire, or nuisance hazard
- Jurisdiction
- City of San Rafael only
Summary
San Rafael prohibits leaving debris, wreckage, or rodent-attracting waste on any lot in the city, whether occupied or vacant, and bans dumping trash on any premises.
No owner, agent, lessee or other person having charge or control of any lot within the City of San Rafael shall suffer, allow or permit any tin cans, ashes or other refuse to remain thereon nor place nor maintain nor cause or permit to be placed, kept or maintained upon any such lot or portion thereof any debris, wreckage or other waste, decayed, dilapidated or discarded or abandoned material or other substance or substances or materials likely to attract or to become a gathering or breeding place for rodents, rats or mice or likely to cause or induce the spread of fire or which is likely to become a menace or injurious to public health or so noxious or offensive to the senses as to injuriously affect the peaceful or comfortable enjoyment of surrounding property.
No person shall throw or deposit any rubbish, trash or garden refuse, tree trimmings, ashes, or tin cans or any other offensive or nauseous substance upon any premises in the City of San Rafael.
The word "refuse" as used or employed in this chapter shall be deemed to mean and include among other things all of the substances, materials, things or materials enumerated, set forth or referred to in this section.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed or interpreted as prohibiting the placing or dumping of rubbish and non-putrescible wastes upon a licensed rubbish dump operated in the manner required by law and ordinance.
(Ord. 56 § 6, as amended by Ord. 720; October 17, 1960: Ord. 202).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 37).
Full Breakdown
SRMC § 9.12.030 bars any owner or person in control of a lot within the city of San Rafael, Marin County, from allowing tin cans, ashes, debris, wreckage, or decayed, dilapidated, or abandoned material to remain on the lot if it is likely to attract rodents, cause fire, or become a nuisance to neighboring property. A second clause bans anyone from dumping rubbish, trash, or garden refuse on any premises in the city. This applies to unimproved as well as improved lots inside San Rafael city limits, not county land.
Violations & Fines
Same notice-and-abatement process as Chapter 9.12: city notice to remove, city abatement after 10 days if ignored, costs recovered as a lien on the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this apply to unincorporated Marin County land near San Rafael?
What kind of material triggers a violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Rafael
California rules heatmap·Compare San Rafael to another location·View the California property maintenance overview
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