Item #03
Date: August 18, 2026
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jeramy Chapdelaine, Public Works Director
Jim Schaad, City Manager
Subject: Ordinance for prescribed grazing for vegetation management Recommendation:
Staff recommends to waive the second reading and adopt Ordinance 1475 Ordinance (Attachment 1) adding a new chapter to the Marysville Municipal Code establishing regulations for prescribed grazing for vegetation management.
Background:
The City of Marysville owns and maintains green space areas, including floodplain and river-bottom lands located on the river side of the City’s levees. These areas require ongoing vegetation management to control weeds and excessive vegetation, reduce fire hazards, maintain access, protect flood conveyance, and support the overall maintenance of City property.
The City currently relies primarily on conventional vegetation management methods, including mechanical mowing and clearing. These methods may not always be the most effective or efficient approach in areas with uneven terrain, limited equipment access, dense vegetation, or other site constraints.
Prescribed grazing is the temporary and controlled use of grazing animals to achieve specific vegetation management objectives. Goats and sheep consume different types of vegetation and may be used individually or as mixed herds depending upon the vegetation targeted and the desired management outcome. When appropriately managed, prescribed grazing can supplement conventional vegetation management practices and provide the City with an additional tool for targeted weed reduction, fuel reduction, invasive plant control, and general vegetation management.
The Marysville Municipal Code does not currently establish a regulatory framework specifically addressing prescribed grazing on City-owned property. The proposed ordinance would establish such a framework and authorize prescribed grazing within designated City-owned green space subject to a permit, operational requirements, environmental protections, and City oversight.
Discussion & Analysis:
The proposed ordinance establishes a permit-based Prescribed Grazing for Vegetation Management Program for designated City-owned green space. The program would allow goats, sheep, or mixed herds Item #03
to be used for targeted weed reduction, fuel reduction, invasive plant control, and other vegetation management purposes.
The City Manager or designee would administer the program, establish site-specific requirements based on targeted vegetation, site conditions, and management objectives, and adopt and administer procedures, permit applications, forms, checklists, standard permit conditions, and other administrative requirements necessary to implement the program consistent with the ordinance and City Council policy.
The ordinance generally limits active grazing to five acres at any one time and establishes a maximum stocking rate of ten animals per active grazing acre, unless otherwise approved by the City. Grazing would be conducted on a rotational basis, with limits on grazing duration and minimum rest periods to prevent overgrazing, erosion, and damage to desirable vegetation. Year-round grazing could be permitted where sufficient acreage is available to maintain adequate rotation and recovery periods.
Because the City-owned green space contemplated for the program includes river-bottom and floodplain property, the ordinance includes specific environmental protections. Grazing would be prohibited during flood events or when soils are saturated, and the City could require setbacks, buffers, exclusion areas, seasonal restrictions, or advance removal of animals to protect water quality, flood control functions, waterways, sensitive habitat, and elderberry shrubs. Grazing on levees or other flood control facilities would be prohibited unless expressly approved by the agency having jurisdiction.
Permit holders would be required to maintain appropriate insurance, securely contain and monitor animals, provide for animal health and welfare, and minimize impacts to adjacent properties and the public. The City Manager or designee would have authority to impose additional conditions and modify, suspend, or revoke permits when necessary.
Permits would be valid for one year and require annual renewal. A separate resolution would establish a $100 initial permit processing fee and $50 annual renewal fee and authorize the City Manager or designee to waive or reduce fees upon a written determination that doing so is in the best interest of the City.
Environmental Review:
The proposed ordinance is not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), because the ordinance establishes a regulatory and administrative framework governing the temporary use of grazing animals for vegetation management purposes and does not, by itself, authorize any specific grazing activity or result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Alternatively, to the extent adoption of the ordinance is considered a project under CEQA, the ordinance is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the common-sense exemption, because it can be seen with certainty that adoption of the regulatory framework will not result in a significant effect on the environment.
The City further finds that temporary grazing activities authorized pursuant to the ordinance may qualify for categorical exemptions under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 and 15304 because such activities generally involve the maintenance of existing vegetation and landscaping and minor alterations in the condition of land and vegetation that do not involve the removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees. The applicability of any categorical exemption to a specific grazing activity may be determined through the City’s administrative permit and review process, including consideration of the exceptions set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2.
Accordingly, adoption of the ordinance is not subject to further environmental review under CEQA..
Item #03
Alignment with City Council Goal(s):
This action supports City Council goals related to Increasing Fiscal Sustainability and Enhancing Public Safety.
Legal Review:
The City Attorney has reviewed the proposed ordinance and resolution and approved it as to form.
Fiscal Impact:
The proposed $100 initial permit processing fee and $50 annual renewal fee are intended to offset a portion of the administrative costs associated with permit review and oversight. Prescribed grazing may also provide maintenance savings in areas where grazing is more efficient or practical than mechanical mowing, clearing, or other conventional vegetation management methods.
Attachments:
• Attachment 1: Proposed Ordinance - Prescribed Grazing for Vegetation Management • Attachment 2: Proposed Resolution Establishing Prescribed Grazing Permit Fees and Delegating Administrative Authority
• Attachment 3: Draft Marysville Administrative Procedure PW-XX Prescribed Grazing for Vegetation Management Program
• Attachment 4: Draft City of Marysville Temporary Grazing Permit Application