ORDINANCE NO. 3317-26
HEDGE ORDINANCE
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ORDINANCE NO. 3317-26
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH,
CALIFORNIA, ADDING TITLE 4, CHAPTER 38, TO THE
REDONDO BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO
HEDGES
WHEREAS, the City has the authority to regulate to ensure the public’s health, safety and general welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City has received multiple complaints about hedges as well as multiple questions about the enforcement of hedges; and WHEREAS, on July 21, 2026, the City Council of the City of Redondo Beach, California, held a discussion on the City’s hedge-related ordinances and directed staff to pursue a revised hedge ordinance;
WHEREAS, on July 22, 2026, Councilmember Behrendt submitted a proposed revised ordinance, which was distributed to City Departments for review and input; and WHEREAS, on September 1, 2026, the City Council held a second discussion on the City’s hedge-related ordinances and directed staff to finalize the ordinance and present to Council for Introduction and First Reading.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Title 4, Chapter 38 is hereby added to the Redondo Beach Municipal Code and shall read as follows:
CHAPTER 38 HEDGES
4-38.01 Intent and purposes of chapter. This chapter establishes supplemental definitions, maintenance requirements, public safety and nuisance standards, and enforcement procedures applicable to hedges and vegetation throughout all zones of the City of Redondo Beach. The purposes of this section are to:
(a) Provide for light, air, and privacy for residents and property owners throughout the City;
(b) Safeguard public welfare by preventing visual obstructions at street, highway, alley, and driveway intersections that may endanger persons in motor vehicles, pedestrians, or other members of the traveling public;
(c) Promote traffic safety and emergency access by maintaining clear sightlines at driveways and intersections;
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(d) Promote crime prevention through natural surveillance by maintaining reasonable visibility of residential and commercial properties from the public right-of-way; (e) Protect the character and livability of Redondo Beach neighborhoods by preventing the creation of walled-off streetscapes that isolate properties from the public right of way;
(f) Ensure that hedges are kept free of overgrown, unsightly or hazardous conditions and do not encroach upon utilities or the public right-of-way; and (g) Establish a fair, efficient, and legally sound enforcement framework that prioritizes genuine neighbor impacts and public safety concerns, while minimizing unnecessary enforcement actions for minor, trivial, or inconsequential violations.
Nothing in this chapter supersedes, limits, or replaces any remedy or enforcement authority available under any other provision of this Code, including without limitation Chapter 10 of Title 4 (Nuisances), nor does anything in this chapter prevent enforcement of any violation that also constitutes a violation of another provision of this Code or of local, state, or federal law.
4-38.02 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below.
“Bona Fide Complainant” shall mean an owner or occupant of record on a lot located within 100 feet of the lot with an alleged violation.
“Critical and/or Urgent Violation” shall mean a violation of this chapter that constitutes any of the following, as determined by the City Manager, or designees:
(a) Traffic safety — sight obstruction. Any hedge or vegetation so located with respect to a driveway, intersection, path, or street approach as to prevent a clear view of approaching vehicles or members of the traveling public in sufficient time for a driver traveling at a reasonable speed to come to a full stop, or any Visual Obstruction within a Sight Triangle that exceeds the height limits in sections 10-
2.1524 or 10-5.1524, as applicable.
(b) Traffic safety — traffic control devices. Any hedge or vegetation that obstructs the clear visibility from the public right-of-way of any traffic control device, including without limitation stop signs, speed limit signs, street name signs, and traffic signals.
(c) Address visibility. Any hedge or vegetation that obstructs the clear visibility of property address numbers from the public right-of-way, impeding the ability of emergency responders or the public to identify the property.
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(d) Emergency access. Any hedge or vegetation that obstructs, conceals, or impedes access to gates, entryways, pathways, or any portion of the property by emergency responders, or that prevents emergency responders from clearly observing conditions at or around the property from the public right-of-way. (e) Crime prevention and natural surveillance. Any hedge or vegetation located within a required front setback that eliminates or substantially reduces the visibility of front doors, ground-floor windows, or the front yard of a residential or commercial property from the public right-of-way, in a manner that provides concealment for criminal activity as determined by the Chief of Police or designee.
(f) Nighttime safety. Any hedge or vegetation that substantially blocks the illumination of driveways, intersections, entryways, or sidewalks by streetlights, porch lights, or other required or customary lighting, in a manner that creates a safety hazard for pedestrians or motorists.
(g) Fire hazard and defensible space. Any hedge, tree, shrub, or other vegetation of flammable character maintained within twenty (20) feet of any dwelling or structure used for human habitation where the vegetation is dead, dying, or inadequately maintained, such that it presents a fire hazard. (h) Public right-of-way encroachment. Any hedge or vegetation that encroaches into, over, or upon any public sidewalk, parkway, alley, street, or other public right-ofway in a manner that obstructs pedestrian or vehicular traffic, impedes ADArequired pedestrian access, or poses a hazard to persons using the right-of-way, including without limitation vegetation higher than twenty-four (24) inches in a parkway, and toxic, sharp, spiky, or nuisance vegetation adjacent to or overhanging a public right-of-way.
(i) Walled-off streetscape. A continuous hedge exceeding six (6) feet in height, extending along a single street frontage for a cumulative linear distance of fifty (50) feet or more, whether on a single parcel or across two or more immediately adjacent parcels under common or related ownership or control. (j) Other public health or safety hazard. Any other condition involving a hedge or vegetation that the City Manager, or designees, determines presents a risk to public health, safety, or welfare based on objective, articulable conditions. “Hedge” shall mean a continuous living screen, barrier, or boundary marker formed by a row, series, or grouping of two (2) or more closely spaced woody shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation planted, cultivated, or maintained in close proximity so as to form, or that has grown to form, a substantially continuous physical or visual obstruction to passage or view, having a height greater than twelve (12) inches. “Height” shall mean the vertical distance from the top of the hedge to the grade (ground) directly below. The height shall be measured from the side of the hedge with the ORDINANCE NO. 3317-26
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highest grade (ground) elevation. Grades (grounds) shall not be artificially altered for the purpose of circumventing the height limits set forth in this section. “Shrub” shall mean a woody plant, generally smaller than a tree, typically with multiple stems branching from or near the ground.
“Sight Triangle” shall mean a triangular area at the corner of a lot at any street intersection or street-alley intersection, maintained clear of visual obstructions for traffic safety purposes.
“Tree” shall mean a plant having at least one well defined stem or trunk and normally attaining a mature height of at least 15 feet, and having a trunk that shall be kept clear of leaves and branches at least six feet above grade at maturity. “Vegetation” shall mean all types of plants, bushes, hedges, shrubs, and trees. “Visual Obstruction” shall mean any fence, hedge, tree, shrub, wall, structure, or other physical obstruction that limits the visibility of persons in motor vehicles, pedestrians, or the traveling public approaching intersecting or intercepting streets, alleys, paths, driveways, or other public rights-of-way.
4-38.03 Safety, Nuisance, and Right-of-Way Violations
The following conditions constitute violations of this chapter and are enforceable by the City independently of, and without regard to, the Bona Fide Complainant requirement set forth in section 4-38.05 below. Each condition described in this section may also independently constitute a violation of RBMC §4-10.02 or other applicable provisions of this Code or state or federal law, and nothing in this section limits or supersedes that independent enforcement authority.
(a) Traffic sight obstructions. It shall be a violation of this section for any property owner or occupant to tolerate, allow, or permit:
(1) Any tree, hedge or vegetation to be so located with respect to a driveway or street intersection as to prevent a clear view of approaching motor vehicles, pedestrians, or the traveling public in sufficient time for a vehicle driven at a reasonable speed to come to a full stop before such intersection or driveway approach is reached; or
(2) Any Visual Obstruction within a Sight Triangle that exceeds the height limits established in sections 10-2.1524 or 10-5.1524, as applicable. (b) Obstructions over and upon streets, sidewalks, and public rights-of-way. It shall be a violation of this section for any property owner or occupant to tolerate, allow, or permit any hedge, or limbs, branches, or other vegetation to be so situated or located as to encroach upon, obstruct, or overhang any public street, alley, parkway, or sidewalk in a manner that:
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(1) obstructs or may reasonably be expected to obstruct the free passage of vehicular or pedestrian traffic;
(2) impedes or may reasonably be expected to impede ADA-required pedestrian access; or
(3) poses a risk to persons traversing streets, paths, or sidewalks in the immediate area.
A violation under this section does not require proof of actual injury or endangerment; a reasonable likelihood of harm based on objective, observable conditions is sufficient.
(c) Fire and flammability hazard. It shall be a violation of this section for any property owner or occupant to tolerate, allow, or permit any hedge, tree, shrub, or other vegetation of flammable character to be maintained within twenty (20) feet of any dwelling or other structure used for human habitation where the vegetation is dead, dying, or inadequately maintained, such that it presents a fire hazard. (d) Obstruction of traffic control devices, address numbers, and emergency access.
It shall be a violation of this section for any property owner or occupant to tolerate, allow, or permit any hedge or vegetation to obstruct the clear visibility from the public right-of-way of any traffic control device, property address numbers, or fire hydrants, or to obstruct emergency responder access to the property.
4-38.04 Maintenance and Encroachment
(a) Maintenance required. All hedges on any property within the City, regardless of zone, shall remain free of overgrown, unsightly or hazardous conditions and be maintained at all times. Maintenance includes regular trimming to prevent overgrowth beyond permitted heights, repair or removal of damaged or structurally unsound sections, and removal of debris or dead vegetation.
Maintenance violations that affect utilities or the public right-of-way are enforceable by a complaint submitted by a Bona Fide Complainant or by cityinitiated action where the condition constitutes a Critical and/or Urgent Violation. (b) No encroachment onto public right-of-way. No hedge shall encroach into, over, or upon any public sidewalk, parkway, alley, street, or other public right-of-way.
Encroachment onto the public right-of-way constitutes a Critical and/or Urgent Violation enforceable by the City without a complaint submitted by a Bona Fide Complainant.
4-38.05 Enforcement
(a) General. Enforcement of the height and location standards of this section shall be primarily complaint-driven for violations that are not Critical and/or Urgent ORDINANCE NO. 3317-26
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Violations. Nothing in this subsection restricts any person's right to petition the City or submit information to City staff, nor does anything in this subsection limit the City's enforcement authority for Critical and/or Urgent Violations as defined in section 4-38.02, for violations described in Section 4-38.03, or for violations of RBMC §4-10.02 or any other applicable provision of this Code or local, state, or federal law.
(b) Bona Fide Complainant requirement — non-Critical and/or Urgent Violations.
Absent a written complaint submitted by a Bona Fide Complainant as defined in section 4-38.02, the City has no duty to investigate a violation that is not a Critical and/or Urgent Violation. The submission of a complaint by a Bona Fide Complainant does not, standing alone, obligate the City to initiate enforcement action; the City retains full discretion, after an investigation, whether to initiate enforcement action under this section. Anonymous complaints and complaints from persons who do not qualify as Bona Fide Complainants may be logged for informational purposes but do not obligate the City to initiate an investigation or formal enforcement action.
(c) City discretion — Critical and/or Urgent Violations. The City retains full discretion whether to initiate enforcement action for Critical and/or Urgent Violations. (d) Good faith requirement. Complaints submitted under this section shall be made in good faith based on a genuine belief that a violation exists and that the complainant is materially affected by the alleged violation. The City reserves the right to decline to pursue enforcement where it determines that a complaint has been submitted for an improper purpose, including without limitation harassment of a property owner or an attempt to manipulate City enforcement resources for purposes unrelated to the welfare of the complaining party. A pattern of complaints by the same complainant targeting multiple unrelated properties in different parts of the City within a short period of time is a factor the City may consider in evaluating whether a complaint was submitted for an improper purpose.
4-38.06 Notice and Opportunity to Cure
(a) Standard notice procedure. Prior to initiating formal enforcement proceedings for a violation that is not a Critical and/or Urgent Violation, the City shall provide the property owner with written notice of the alleged violation. The notice shall:
(1) Identify the specific provision(s) of this chapter, Title 10, or other applicable provision of this Code alleged to be violated;
(2) Describe the condition constituting the alleged violation with reasonable specificity;
(3) State the corrective action required to achieve compliance; ORDINANCE NO. 3317-26
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(4) Provide a minimum of sixty (60) days from the first date of notice to achieve voluntary compliance; and
(5) Advise the property owner of the right to contact the City to discuss the alleged violation and to submit information or evidence relevant to the enforcement determination.
(b) Critical and/or Urgent Violations. The notice and cure period in subsection (a) shall not apply to Critical and/or Urgent Violations. For such violations, the City may proceed to enforcement upon such notice as is reasonable under the circumstances.
(c) No waiver. The provision of notice under subsection (a) shall not be construed as a waiver of any enforcement right or remedy available to the City. 4-38.07 Penalties — Infractions and Misdemeanors
(a) Classification. Violations of this chapter are offenses that may be prosecuted as either an infraction or a misdemeanor, in the discretion of the City Attorney's Office, depending on the nature, severity, circumstances, and history of the violation, consistent with RBMC §1-2.01(b). Penalties shall be assessed consistent with RBMC §1-2.02.
(b) Cumulative violations. Each day that a violation of this chapter continues after the expiration of any applicable notice and cure period constitutes a separate offense.
(c) Preservation of remedies. Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the City to pursue abatement, civil penalties, injunctive relief, or any other remedy available under this Code or applicable local, state, or federal law. Nothing in this chapter limits the rights of any person to pursue any civil or other remedy available under California law or any other applicable law. Enforcement under this chapter does not preclude concurrent or subsequent enforcement under RBMC §4-10.02 or any other applicable provision of this Code or local, state, or federal law.” SECTION 2. INCONSISTENT PROVISIONS. Any provisions of the Redondo Beach Municipal Code, or appendices thereto, or any other ordinances of the City inconsistent herewith, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. SEVERANCE. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
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SECTION 4. PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance, or a summary of this ordinance, shall be published at least once in the City’s official newspaper within fifteen (15) days from and after the date of adoption; or published in conformance with the alternative publication requirements pursuant to the Redondo Beach City Charter Section 9.15 by posting the ordinance in at least three public places in the City as designated by the Council and posted on the City’s online website or publicly available City-controlled internet site in lieu of publication if the ordinance solely pertains to the municipal affairs of the city, and same shall go into effect and be in full force and operation from thirty (30) days after its final passage and adoption.
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 15th day of September, 2026. __________________________
James A. Light, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST:
_______________________________ ________________________________ Joy A. Ford, City Attorney Eleanor Manzano, CMC, City Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 3317-26
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS
CITY OF REDONDO BEACH )
I, Eleanor Manzano, City Clerk of the City of Redondo Beach, California, do hereby certify that Ordinance No. 3317-26 was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Redondo Beach, California, held on the 8
th of September, 2026, and approved
and adopted by the City Council of the City of Redondo Beach, California, at a regular meeting of said City Council on the 15th of September, 2026, and thereafter signed and approved by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk, and that said Ordinance was adopted by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
________________________________
Eleanor Manzano, CMC
City Clerk