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

Chapter 8.14 (Ord. 3428, 2022) requires every owner or responsible person in the unincorporated county to remove hazardous vegetation - defined in 8.14.030(I) to include "seasonal and recurrent weeds, stubble, brush, dry leaves, needles, tumbleweeds, standing dead trees" and ladder fuels. The ordinance's Reduced Fuel Zone (8.14.030(N)) sets concrete standards: "Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches," create horizontal and vertical spacing between grass, shrubs and trees, remove standing dead vegetation, and keep fallen leaves and needles no deeper than 3 inches; wood piles and propane tanks need 10 feet of clearance to bare mineral soil. Section 8.14.050 requires 100 feet of defensible space around all dwellings and buildings, consistent with California Public Resources Code 4291, and 8.14.060(A) adds roadway/driveway clearance of 15 feet of overhead clearance and a 10-foot Reduced Fuel Zone from the roadway edge. The County notes this ordinance "exceeds CAL FIRE's defensible space laws." Enforcement is by the County Fire Chief through Chapter 1.10. As a matter of intake practice, Code Compliance refers weeds-and-brush complaints to CAL FIRE. Healthy mature scenic trees, crops, vineyards, orchards, and marketable timber need not be removed, and reduction is not required on steep slopes or in riparian/wetland areas.