Simi Valley Grass Height Limits Rules (2026): What You Need to Know

Simi Valley Municipal Code Chapter 15 establishes property and premises maintenance standards applicable to all parcels in the city. The code treats overgrown grass and vegetation as a public nuisance when the condition creates a fire hazard due to dry or highly combustible plant material, provides harborage for rodents or other vermin, obstructs pedestrian or vehicular sightlines, or otherwise threatens the health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding community. Property owners who receive a notice of violation from the Code Enforcement Section are given a compliance period — typically 10 to 30 days — to correct the condition. If the owner fails to act within the allotted time, the City may contract for abatement and recover all costs, including administrative fees, through a special assessment lien on the property.

Simi Valley does not establish a single universally published numeric maximum grass height in inches for private yards. Enforcement is conducted on a nuisance standard: grass and lawn areas that are conspicuously overgrown relative to surrounding maintained properties, that have dried and browned to become combustible fuel, or that have gone to seed are the conditions most commonly cited. Parkway strips — the publicly owned right-of-way between the sidewalk and the street curb — are the responsibility of the abutting private property owner for maintenance purposes, including regular mowing, watering, and dead vegetation removal. The Code Enforcement Section at (805) 583-6760 handles complaints and questions citywide.

Fire-safe vegetation management carries particular weight in Simi Valley given the community's geography. The city is bordered by the Santa Susana Mountains and the Simi Hills, terrain that has historically supported wind-driven wildfire activity during Santa Ana wind events. CAL FIRE has designated significant portions of Simi Valley within High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and the Ventura County Fire Department — the city's fire services provider — actively conducts annual defensible space inspections for parcels in those zones. Under California Public Resources Code Section 4291, all structures in designated fire hazard zones must maintain a minimum 100-foot defensible space cleared of combustible vegetation, with Zone 1 (0–30 feet) requiring particularly rigorous clearance. Simi Valley also encourages drought-tolerant and fire-resistant landscaping as part of its general plan policies, and turf replacement rebates may be available through Calleguas Municipal Water District, the primary wholesale water supplier for the area.