Title 7 HEALTH AND SANITATION*
Chapter 7.26 WEED ABATEMENT
7.26.010 Purpose.
7.26.020 Definitions.
7.26.030 Requirements.
7.26.040 Operation.
7.26.050 Contracts for removal.
7.26.060 Disclaimer.
7.26.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the removal of weeds from
around the exterior of improvements situated in the unincorporated areas of the
county so as to reduce the potential for fire, exposure to poisons and noxious
substances, and to promote the public health, safety and welfare of the
community.
The board of supervisors finds that in many subdivisions located
in the unincorporated areas of the county, the growth and accumulation of weeds
during the summer and fall months of the year poses a severe fire and safety
hazard, both to persons and property; that the growth and accumulation of weeds
presents difficult conditions for fire suppression efforts; that the growth and
accumulation of weeds is allowed to occur by significant numbers of property
owners, many of whom live out of the county and/or the state.
Based upon
these findings, the board of supervisors hereby declares that the existence of
weeds in the unincorporated areas of the county constitutes a nuisance of a
seasonal and recurring nature and that the weeds in these areas shall be removed
by the owners of the respective lots and, in the absence of such voluntary
removal, that the weeds may be abated and removed by the county as set forth in
this chapter. (Ord. 448 § l(part), 1980).
7.26.020 Definitions.
The following definitions apply to this
chapter:
A. “Department” means the county fire department or its
designee.
B. “Improvement” means commercial, retail and
residential structures and any accessory structure used in conjunction with such
commercial, retail or residential structure, including, but not limited to,
storage sheds, detached garages, greenhouses, fences, living ornamental
vegetation, mobile-home, LPG and fuel storage tanks, driveways, animal shelters,
and vehicle parking areas.
C. “Plow down date” shall be May 1st
of each year, or at such other date as the fire department may declare by
publication. The Madera County fire chief or his designee may permit exceptions
to this rule in writing.
D. “Property owners” are those owners
whose names appear on the most current assessor’s parcel list or county
tax roll.
E. “Weeds” includes vegetation which bears or may bear
seeds of a downy or wingy nature; grasses and other vegetation which may attain
such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace; vegetation otherwise
noxious or dangerous, including poison oak and poison ivy in a condition of
growth constituting a menace to public health; and accumulations of refuse,
cuttings, trash and other combustible rubbish. (Ord. 448-B §1, 1987: Ord.
448-A §§1, 2, 1986; Ord. 448 §1(part), 1980).
7.26.030 Requirements.
Every owner of any vacant lot or improved lot situated in the
unincorporated areas of the county, or such areas as are designated by the
Madera County fire department, shall, prior to May 1st of every year, remove all
weeds from the following areas on their lots:
A. For improved lots, a strip
of land thirty feet wide surrounding the entire exterior of any improvement
shall be cleared of weeds, provided that if any portion of any improvement lies
within thirty feet of the property line, then removal of weeds from that
location need only take place up to the property line. If an improved lot is
less than three acres in area, the owner may mow the entire lot to within
one-half inch to one inch of the ground and maintain that height throughout the
fire season. “Improvement” is defined as any commercial, retail, or
residential structure and any accessory structure used in conjunction with such
commercial, retail or residential structure, including but not limited to
storage sheds, detached garages, fuel tanks (including LPG), car ports, animal
shelters, greenhouses and fences.
B. For vacant lots, a strip of land thirty
feet wide from each property line and street frontage shall be cleared of weeds.
Abatement is not required on any actively grazed land, irrigated pasture, or
cultivated lands if the weed growth does not exceed six inches in
height.
Removal of the weeds and abatement of the hazard by discing,
rototilling, plowing, or mowing as allowed in subsection A of this section is
required. Burning is not permitted on any lot. The removal method employed
must abate the hazard posed by the growth and presence of the weeds to the
satisfaction of the fire department.
Upon determination by the department
that a hazard of weeds exists on a parcel that has been previously disced,
rototilled, plowed or mown, the department will mail a written notice of the
existence of the hazard to the property owner of record within fifteen days of
determination that a hazard exists. The notice shall, at a minimum, contain the
owner’s name and mailing address and the assessor’s parcel number
(APN) of each parcel on which a hazard continues to exist, and shall give notice
of the right of the owner to protest to the department and to appeal to the
board of supervisors as provided in Section 8.01.070 of this code. The
notice shall also specify that the property owner of record shall have fifteen
days from the date of the notice to either abate the hazard or to file a written
protest. If affected owners file a written protest with the department within
fifteen days of the notice of the hazard and the department then abates the weed
hazard on the property over the objection of the owner to the reabatement, the
owner may appeal to the board of supervisors as provided in Section 8.01.070 of
this code.
The Madera County fire chief shall have discretion to extend the
deadline for abatement beyond May 1, provided that notice of the new abatement
deadline date shall be published at least once per week for three consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the county, with the first
publication to be no later than April 20th. Three publications in a newspaper
regularly published at least once per week, with at least five days intervening
between the respective publication dates, shall be sufficient. (Ord. 448-E
§ 1, 2006: Ord. 448D § 1, 2005: Ord. 448-B § 2,
1987: Ord. 448-A § 3, 1986; Ord. 448 § 1(part),
1980).
7.26.040 Operation.
A. The department shall notify all affected property owners by
concurrently mailing with the property owner’s annual property tax bill, a
notice to the owners of the property as their names and addresses appear upon
the current county assessment tax rolls, that the deadline to abate the seasonal
and reoccurring nuisance of weeds on the property is on or before May 1st each
and every year.
The notice shall contain the following specific
language:
NOTICE FOR SEASONAL WEED ABATEMENT
(Cal. Health &
Safety Code § 14900.6; MCC § 7.26)
Madera County has declared that the growth and accumulation of weeds in
the unincorporated areas of the County poses a fire, safety and public health
risk and has therefore declared weeds a seasonal and recurring nuisance. Each
property owner named on the accompanying tax bill is responsible for abating the
nuisance on the property, which property is described in detail on the
accompanying tax bill. The nuisance must be abated on or before May 1st each
and every year. If not abated pursuant to Madera County Code section 7.26.030,
the fines and costs described herein, shall constitute a lien upon the property
until paid. Commencing January 2005, THIS NOTICE APPLIES TO ALL LOTS AND
PROPERTIES, whether vacant, undeveloped or improved lots. Improved lots less
than 3 acres in size may abate the nuisance by mowing weeds to a height of 1/2
to 1 inch of the ground in accordance with Madera County Code section
7.26.030.
FAILURE TO ABATE THE WEED NUISANCE BY MAY 1ST WILL RESULT IN A FINE OF
$250.00 BEING ASSESSED AGAINST THE PROPERTY. IN ADDITION, THE COUNTY’S
COSTS FOR ABATING THE NUISANCE AND ALL ADMINISTRATIVE FEES AND COSTS
ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COUNTY ABATING THE NUISANCE, SHALL ALSO BE ASSESSED AGAINST
THE PROPERTY.
Due to weed re-growth and the resulting hazard continuing throughout the
fire season, HAZARD ABATEMENT MUST BE MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT THE FIRE SEASON.
THIS MAY REQUIRE ABATEMENT OF THE NUISANCE MORE THAN ONCE AS WEEDS AND HAZARDS
GROW BACK.
Questions regarding this Notice shall be directed to the Weed Abatement
Compliance Officer at (559) 675-7799. Thank you in advance for your timely
compliance with this notice.
The envelope containing the property tax
bill and the weed abatement notice must be marked on the outside with the words,
“Official Notice Enclosed” or “Legal Notice
Enclosed.”
B. Failure to complete removal by the annual May 1st plow
down date shall constitute an infraction punishable by a maximum fine of two
hundred fifty dollars, unless the fire chief has announced a later date for
completion of removal of weeds, upon which date the weeds must be removed. The
county shall proceed to remove the weeds and abate the hazard. Cost of removal
by the county together with an administrative charge shall be apportioned to the
property as a special assessment on such property, which will be added to the
property tax bill as provided in Government Code Section 25845, and may also be
recorded against the property as a lien. In addition, any lot that is not
abated prior to the plow down date, and is determined to have contributed to the
spread of any fire, may be subject to fire suppression recovery
costs.
C. Upon completion of the weed abatement, the department shall
compile a list of the violator’s assessor parcel numbers, names and
addresses of the property owners, and the proportionate share of the cost of
weed abatement for each parcel. The department shall also include a reasonable
administration fee for the county’s costs of mailing, billing, inspection,
bookkeeping and processing. Thereafter, the department shall mail a bill to the
owner(s) of each parcel abated, which shall contain all information required for
a Madera County administrative citation.
Within thirty days of mailing of
the bill (as shown by postmark), the property owner or the owner’s agent
shall either pay the bill in full or request a hearing under the procedures of
Section 8.01.100 of this code.
The issues for dispute shall be limited
to:
1. Clerical error in the weed abatement cost apportionment, or property
ownership; and
2. Preabatement conformance to the requirements of Section
7.26.030 of this chapter, including abatement of weeds prior to any deadline
established by the fire chief that is after May 1st.
Once the owner has
exhausted all administrative procedures under Section 8.01.100 of this code, the
board of supervisors shall approve the department’s costs of abatement and
such approval shall constitute a levy of a special assessment for weed abatement
costs.
D. The board of supervisors, upon approval of the department’s
costs of abatement, shall cause a notice of abatement lien to be recorded
against each parcel that did not pay the bill for weed abatement. The notice
shall, at a minimum, identify the recorded owner or possessor of the property
and that owner’s or possessor’s last known address, specify the date
upon which the board of supervisors ordered the abatement and the date of
completion of the abatement, describe the real property subject to the lien, and
specify the amount of the abatement cost. The abatement lien may be released or
subordinated by order of the board of supervisors. (Ord. 448-E § 2,
2006: Ord. 448D § 2, 2005: Ord. 448-C § 1, 2004:
Ord. 448-B § 3, 1987: Ord. 448-A §§ (4)--(7), 1986;
Ord. 448 § 1(part), 1980).
7.26.050 Contracts for removal.
The department may undertake to abate and remove the weeds from
nonconforming lots through a private contractor or contractors. Such
contractors shall be selected by bidding held pursuant to Section 2.18.060, and
the procedures adopted thereunder. (Ord. 448 §1(part), 1980).
7.26.060 Disclaimer.
The provisions of this chapter shall be an alternative weed abatement
procedure to that contained in Chapter 7.20. Nothing in this chapter shall be
construed to limit or abrogate the powers, rights and remedies granted by
Section 7.24.080 and Chapter 14.38. (Ord. 448 §1(part), 1980).
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