Alpine County, CA Property Maintenance: Weeds & Overgrown Grass (2026)

Unlike many California jurisdictions, Alpine County has not adopted a weeds-and-grass ordinance, and its County Code sets no maximum grass height, no overgrown-vegetation nuisance chapter, and no annual weed-abatement assessment program. There is therefore no County-set inch limit on lawn or weed height to cite. Vegetation management in Alpine County is instead governed by California state law focused on wildfire fuels. Public Resources Code Section 4291 requires defensible space (generally 100 feet) around structures in State Responsibility Areas, which cover most of this mountainous county, and the Bear Valley Transfer Station ordinance expressly recognizes that residents may deposit 'natural vegetation materials at any county-designated burn site... for purposes of fuel load reduction in compliance with California Public Resources Code Section 4291' (Section 13.32.030(E)). The County Code's Outdoor Burning (Chapter 8.16) and Fire Restrictions and Fuels Reduction (Chapter 8.20) chapters address how vegetation may be cleared and burned. For residents, green-waste and defensible-space cleanup is handled through haulers such as Cal-Waste's Handy Hauler bins rather than a mandatory cutting standard. Anyone told a 'weed ordinance' applies should confirm whether the requirement actually comes from CAL FIRE defensible-space rules.