Cupertino Weed and Brush Abatement Programs

Weed Abatement Program

The Weed Abatement Program is conducted in partnership with the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture. Chapter 9.08 of the Cupertino Municipal Code and requires property owners to remove or destroy hazardous weeds on their property for fire protection. Properties that are not in compliance with the program requirements are required to correct the conditions within a set deadline. If the property owner does not remove the weeds by the deadline, then the County is authorized to do so and to recover the cost of abatement from the property owner.

Weed-Abatement-Flowchart

Initial Inspection Fees

Every property in the Weed Abatement Program receives an initial inspection by the County after April 30 to determine if weeds have been properly abated. No further action is needed for compliant properties. If a property is non-compliant, the County proceeds to abate the property at the expense of the property owner. Even if a property passes this initial inspection, they are charged an initial inspection fee since the program is entirely cost recovery. This fee varies slightly every year due to cost recovery calculations.


Brush Abatement Program

The Brush Abatement Program is managed by the Santa Clara County Fire Department and is separate from the Weed Abatement Program. Section 16.40.200 of the Cupertino Municipal Code requires property owners in the locally adopted Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area (WUI) to maintain effective defensible space by removing brush, flammable vegetation and combustible growth as required by the fire code official due to steepness of terrain or other conditions. The County is authorized to remove the brush if the property owner does not do so and to recover the cost of abatement from the property owner.

 

Brush Abatement Program Enforced Safety Regulations

A. Create 30-100 ft. zone (depending on your parcel requirement) of defensible space around your home. To accomplish this, you must clear flammable vegetation a minimum of 30-100 ft. around structures.

B. Remove pine needles, leaves, and other dead vegetation from roofs, eaves and rain gutters.

C. Trim tree limbs 10 feet from chimneys and stove pipes; remove dead limbs that hang over rooftops.

D. Remove all non-fire-resistive vegetation a minimum of 10 feet on each side of a fire apparatus access road or driveway.

E. Cover chimney outlets or flues with a 1/2” mesh spark arrester.

F. Post a clearly visible house address, using at least 4” high numbers, for easy identification. For homes located more than 50 feet from the street, post address numbers at the driveway entrance.

 

For information about vegetation abatement services, visit WeedAbatement.SCCgov.org or call 408.282.3145.

 

To schedule a courtesy property inspection provided by SCCFD or for more information, please contact the Fire Prevention Division at prevention@sccfd.org or call 408.341.4420.

 

Weed Abatement Program List

The Weed Abatement Program List is a list of properties that have been previously identified as out of compliance with Program requirements. Properties will be removed from the list after achieving three consecutive years of compliance or by action of the City Council.

  • Only properties on the list will be subject to fees and nuisance declarations under the Weed Abatement Program during that year.
  • Non-compliant properties identified based on complaints or observations in the field will be inspected by the City for compliance with the Cupertino Municipal Code. If the property is found non-compliant and conditions are not corrected within the set deadline, the property will be added to the Weed Abatement Program List for the following calendar year.
  • Properties that fail to meet Brush Abatement requirements by the deadline set by the Santa Clara County Fire Department and included in an abatement order approved by the City Council will also be added to the Weed Abatement Program List for the following calendar year.

 

Weed Abatement Program Standards

 

The clearance requirements for the Weed Abatement program are referred to as the Minimum Fire Safety Standards (MFSS).

 

Weed Abatement Program Minimum Fire Safety Standards (MFSS)

 

  1. Vegetation must not exceed 6 inches in height any time after the compliance deadline
  2. Maintain grasses and weeds below six (6) inches for ten feet horizontally on both sides of all roadways, including driveways and all access routes.
  3. Clear flammable vegetation a minimum of thirty feet around any structure, occupied or not.  Ornamental vegetation should be kept clear of dead material.  Some conditions, such as slopes, may require up to 100 feet of clearance.
  4. Parcels up to one acre shall be completely abated.  Parcels one to five acres require 30-foot clearance around structures and perimeter property lines.  Additional 30-foot cross fuel breaks may also be required.
  5. Parcels larger than five acres require 30-foot clearance around structure and perimeter property lines in addition to 30-foot cross breaks as needed to separate the remaining vegetation into sections no larger than five acres.
  6. Keep property clear of accumulation of combustible debris, such as trash, wood, and dead vegetation.  Stacked firewood and neatly piled yard waste is not considered to be combustible debris.
  7. Keep vegetation cleared from under the eaves of houses.
  8. Trim tree branches to at least 10 feet from the structure and chimney.
  9. Clear leaves, pine needles, and debris from roof and gutters.

 

If the compliance work identified for your property involves brush or weed removal, you may request the services of the approved County of Santa Clara abatement contractor. If you are interested in this service, please call the Hazardous Vegetation Service line at (408) 282-3145 to request more information and/or to schedule an inspection appointment for a cost estimate.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture, Hazardous Vegetation Management Program at (408) 918-4600.

 

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