Beaumont, CA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted law
- Riverside County Ordinance 523, through amendment 523.3
- City adoption
- Ord. No. 1177, October 1, 2024; MOU approved June 20, 2023
- Enforcement Officer
- Riverside County Director of Environmental Health and designees
- Administrative penalties
- $100 first, $200 second, $500 each additional within one year
- Citation appeal
- Written notice within 20 days of service
- Civil penalty
- Up to $1,000 for each day of a willful violation
Summary
In the City of Beaumont, California, no owner or person in control of property can allow debris, standing water, decaying matter, excreta or any other harborage for vectors, a term that includes rodents, to build up into a vector breeding hazard. Beaumont adopted Riverside County Ordinance 523, and the County's Director of Environmental Health decides when the hazard exists.
Section 2. On property owned or under their control, no person shall create conditions or permit the accumulation of solid debris, standing water, decaying animal, decaying vegetable or organic matter, excreta from domestic animals or fowls, human excreta, or any other potential harborage for vectors in such a manner as to cause, or known to cause, a vector breeding hazard or the occurrence of excessive vectors. The determination of the presence of excessive vectors or a vector breeding hazard shall be made by the Enforcement Officer. The presence of excessive vectors on the property shall be prima facie evidence that an adverse public health/well-being hazard exists. The person claiming ownership, title, and/or control of the property shall be responsible for the abatement of the vector breeding hazard and any excessive vectors.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 8.56 of the Beaumont Municipal Code adopts Riverside County Ordinance No. 523, as amended through 523.3, by reference. The chapter's bracketed note explains that the City and the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health entered a Memorandum of Understanding, approved by the City Council on June 20, 2023, under which the City adopts the ordinance codified in Chapter 8.36 of the Riverside County Code. The adoption carries the history note Ord. No. 1177, § 4 (Exh. A), October 1, 2024.
The ordinance defines "vector" as any animal capable of transmitting the causative agent of human disease or capable of producing human discomfort or injury, including mosquitoes, flies, ticks, bees, wasps, other arthropods, rodents and other vertebrates. A "vector breeding hazard" is the accumulation, existence or maintenance of any substance, matter, material or condition known to cause the existence or breeding of vectors in an amount or manner that endangers public health or safety or creates a public nuisance. The Enforcement Officer is the Director of Environmental Health and authorized designees.
Section 2 is the operative duty. On property they own or control, no person can create conditions or permit the accumulation of solid debris, standing water, decaying animal, decaying vegetable or organic matter, excreta from domestic animals or fowls, human excreta, or any other potential harborage for vectors. The Enforcement Officer makes the call on excessive vectors or a breeding hazard, the presence of excessive vectors is prima facie evidence of an adverse public health hazard, and the person claiming ownership, title or control is responsible for abatement.
Section 3 lets the Enforcement Officer enter lands other than buildings or dwellings to survey and abate, after reasonable attempts to gain voluntary compliance. Section 4 makes it a misdemeanor to hinder, obstruct or threaten the officer.
Beaumont's own nuisance chapter overlaps. Section 8.32.110 declares premises that permit breeding or harboring of vermin a public nuisance, § 8.32.105 covers rodent burrows near the top of a slope that weaken it, and § 8.32.270 covers overgrown vegetation likely to harbor rats.
Violations & Fines
County administrative citations cap at $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second within one year and $500 for each additional one, payable to the County of Riverside. Criminally, a first violation is an infraction fined up to $100 and a second on the same site up to $200. A third or later violation is an infraction or misdemeanor with a fine up to $1,000 or six months in jail, or both. Willful violators face civil penalties up to $1,000 per day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Beaumont's vector rule cover rats and mice?
Who decides whether a property has a rodent or vector problem?
Who has to clean up the property?
How do I appeal a vector citation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Beaumont
California rules heatmap·Compare Beaumont to another location·View the California public health rules overview
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Rodent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle rodent control.