Tehama County regulates overgrown vegetation primarily as a fire hazard. Chapter 9.05 (Fire Hazard Abatement) and Chapter 9.14 (Fire Safe Regulations) let the County require removal of combustible weeds, grass and brush, consistent with CAL FIRE standards. California PRC 4291 separately mandates defensible space around structures on State Responsibility Area land. No county-published ornamental lawn-height limit was found.
In unincorporated Tehama County, the controlling 'tall grass' rules are fire-driven, not aesthetic. Chapter 9.05 of the County Code (Fire Hazard Abatement, Title 9) authorizes the County to declare combustible weeds, dry grass, brush and similar flammable vegetation a fire hazard and to order or carry out abatement. Chapter 9.14 (Fire Safe Regulations) adopts wildland fire-protection standards the County intends to be at least equal to the minimum standards of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), covering vegetation modification along with access, signing and water supply. Layered on top is California Public Resources Code section 4291, a statewide law requiring property owners in State Responsibility Areas to maintain defensible space (generally 100 feet, or to the property line) around structures by clearing and reducing flammable vegetation. The County also keeps the public-nuisance backstop in Chapter 10.16 for overgrowth that becomes blight or harbors vermin. We did not find a county-published numeric lawn-height threshold (e.g., a set number of inches) in the County Code, so any specific cutting heights should be confirmed against the current Chapter 9.05/9.14 text, County Fire/Building bulletins, or PRC 4291 rather than assumed. Property owners with questions should contact Tehama County Code Enforcement or the local fire authority.
If an owner fails to abate fire-hazard vegetation, the County may abate it under Chapter 9.05 and charge the cost to the owner. Defensible-space violations on SRA land are also enforceable by CAL FIRE under PRC 4291.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Backyard composting is allowed and encouraged. California's SB 1383 organics-recycling law requires jurisdictions to provide organic-waste collection and div...
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Unincorporated Tehama County has no ordinance banning or specifically regulating residential artificial turf. There is no county lawn-material rule. Syntheti...
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Native and drought-tolerant landscaping is encouraged, not restricted. Tehama County's General Plan promotes native plants in its oak-woodland and restoratio...
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Rainwater harvesting is legal and encouraged. California's Rainwater Capture Act (Water Code §10574) lets landowners install rain barrels for outdoor non-pot...
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Unincorporated Tehama County has no countywide outdoor-watering schedule ordinance; its General Plan encourages conservation and defers to state agencies. St...
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Unincorporated Tehama County abates weeds, dry grass, brush and combustible debris through its Fire Hazard Abatement chapter (Code Ch. 9.05), backed by the F...
See how Tehama County's weeds & overgrown grass rules stack up against other locations.
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