Attachment B
City of Palo Alto Weed Abatement
The City of Palo Alto contracts with the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture and Environmental Management (SCCDAEM) to remove and destroy weeds in its efforts to mitigate potential fire hazards (as defined in Palo Alto Municipal Code Chapter 8.08). The entire weed abatement program is coordinated by the SCCDAEM. Abatement proceedings must follow a legally established course. This is and annual process with weed abatement occurring in late Spring. City of Palo Alto involvement is limited to the following 3 steps for City Council:
1) (Nov-Dec) City of Palo Alto declares Weeds a Nuisance to allow for County abatement and sets a later date (Jan-Feb) for a public hearing to review the Annual Commencement Report (list of “nuisance” parcels).
2) (Jan-Feb) Public Hearing to review the Annual Commencement Report and approve the County abatement proceedings. At this public hearing, property owners may appear and object to the proposed weed destruction or removal. After the hearing and consideration of any objections, the Council may sustain or overrule any or all objections. Upon adoption of the resolution confirming the weed abatement commencement report and ordering weed nuisances abated, the County will be asked to perform the abatement work to destroy and remove any weeds. 3) (July/August) Public Hearing to approve the invoices for the abatement work performed by the SCCDAEM.
The Santa Clara County Weed Abatement Program
The Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture and Environmental Management and the City of Palo Alto work together to protect our community from fire. The purpose of the Weed Abatement Program is to prevent fire hazards posed by vegetative overgrowth and the accumulation of combustible materials.
Typically, a property is placed on the program list by a County Weed Abatement Inspector who identifies a potential fire hazard on the property. The Palo Alto Fire Department (PAFD) & Code Enforcement also report addresses of concern and forward (verified) complaints from residents to the SCCDAEM.
Residents can report addresses of concern to POAFD, code enforcement, or directly to the County Weed Abatement Program.
Santa Clara County program staff annually inspect “nuisance” parcels at the beginning of the fire season, which is typically April 30th for CPA parcels.
The Weed Abatement program is entirely funded from fees charged to residents. All parcels on the list will be charged a basic inspection fee. If the parcel is not in compliance at the time of inspection, the property owner will be charged an additional failed inspection fee, and they will receive a final courtesy notice as a reminder to abate their weeds within 2 weeks.
If the weeds are not abated by the property owner, the work will be completed by the County contractor. The property owner will pay the contractor’s fees plus a County administrative fee. All fees will be included in their property tax bill.
Properties that meet and maintain the minimum fire safety standards will only be charged for the annual fee. These properties will be removed from the list after three years of compliance.