Santa Rosa, CA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

5, the City's local amendment to the International Property Maintenance Code's rodent harborage section. The base rule is broad: structures and exterior property must be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation, and where rodents are found the property owner must have them exterminated through approved processes that will not harm human health, then take precautions to eliminate the harborage and prevent reinfestation. Santa Rosa added a firewood-specific standard because stacked wood is one of the most common rodent harborage complaints inspectors see. Firewood may only be stacked in side or rear yard areas, never the front yard, and every stack must maintain at least 18 inches of clearance between the wood and the ground so rodents cannot nest underneath.

The ordinance also caps the wood itself: stored firewood cannot exceed 36 inches in length or be greater than 24 inches in diameter. These firewood limits sit inside the same section as the general harborage duty, so a stack piled directly on bare soil, or piled in a front yard, is treated the same as any other rodent harborage violation. The section was last amended by Ordinance 2022-015 Section 5, part of the city's 2022 overhaul of its Property Maintenance Code amendments to the International Property Maintenance Code.