Defensible Space Clearing
Dead brush, ladder fuels, weeds and dry grass cleared from the 100 feet around a home. The trees stay standing and the brush stays on the ground as mulch.
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Marina sits on the dunes and the old Fort Ord ground, where oak woodland and brush meet the town's edge. Grass on vacant lots is green in winter and dries out in spring. Marina Fire checks lots for weeds from April through July. Some owners also get a letter from their insurance company about clearance.
Cruz Land Management is based in Seaside on the Monterey Peninsula, and we do defensible space clearing in Marina. Our compact track loader runs the masticating head, which grinds brush, saplings and small trees into mulch where they stand. A brush mower handles weed abatement on lots, and we cut fire breaks along open ground. Call or text (831) 200-5377 and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the brush, the lot or the letter you got. We look at the property and put the quote in writing.
Marina Fire Department runs a weed abatement inspection program across the city every year, from April through July. It starts when the City Council declares weeds and rubbish a public nuisance by resolution. The city's weed page notes that Marina is one of only a few cities that allow safe and sane fireworks. It says the weed program has reduced fires started by careless fireworks use.
A lot that fails the first inspection gets a letter with a re-inspection date. If the weeds remain, a second notice sets a final re-inspection date. After the final inspection, a certified letter says the city intends to have Public Works cut the weeds. The cost is charged to the property as a special assessment and stays a lien until paid.
The city's fee schedule charges a fee after a third failed inspection, and another after a fourth. If a protected species limits the work, the owner must notify the fire department in writing before the compliance date. Our weed abatement service mows to what the letter asks, and brush goes through the masticating head.
The state's 2025 fire hazard map shows High and Moderate zones in Marina, and no Very High zone. Marina received the new maps on March 10, 2025. The city notes that the map shows hazard, not risk, and does not account for defensible space. Check your own parcel on the state's online fire hazard viewer.
CAL FIRE's guidance is to start at the house and work outward, up to 100 feet or the property line. Zone 1 is the first 30 feet, and Zone 2 runs from 30 to 100 feet. In Zone 2, grass is cut to 4 inches or less, and shrubs and trees get space between them.
Our defensible space clearing around a home works through both zones with the masticating head and the brush mower. CAL FIRE's guidance favors gravel or pavers over mulch in the first 5 feet, so the mulch goes farther out.
Marina borders the old Fort Ord, an Army post from 1917 to 1994. Much of that land is now the Bureau of Land Management's Fort Ord National Monument. The bureau lists maritime chaparral and oak woodland among the monument's habitats.
The county's wildfire plan says these open lands may be the county's greatest fire threat to nearby homes. The same plan rates Marina itself at medium priority, with a low fuel hazard. Until 1991, it says, most of Fort Ord's chaparral burned every 1 to 10 years. As that brush ages, the plan expects about five times the fuel per acre.
In July 2017, the Reservation Fire burned 40 acres east of the city, off Reservation Road and Blanco Road. Where a yard backs onto open ground, brush clearing opens up the understory beneath the oaks. The oaks stay, and the brush becomes a thin mulch layer on the ground.
Marina is still growing. Sea Haven, formerly Marina Heights, is down to its final phase, with 92 homes proposed. The city's permit records for that phase list 343 coast live oaks on the site. Marina Station plans about 1,360 homes in the Armstrong Ranch area of northern Marina.
The city also offers pre-approved ADU plans in three styles and three sizes. Lot clearing gets a vacant lot ready for a new house or an ADU. We mow the grass and masticate the brush and small trees, and the lot is left open and walkable. Grading and tree removal are another trade's work.
Parts of Marina near the beach are in the coastal zone, under the city's Local Coastal Program. The city's planning office answers coastal permit questions. From Seaside we come up Highway 1, a drive of about 6 miles. Call or text (831) 200-5377 with photos of the lot, and we will put the quote in writing.
Communities and areas we serve around Marina: Sea Haven, Dunes at Monterey Bay, Marina Station, Preston Park, Locke Paddon Park, Marina Municipal Airport, Marina State Beach, Fort Ord Dunes State Park, Fort Ord National Monument, Reservation Road, Imjin Parkway, East Garrison.
Marina ZIP codes served: 93933.
We come over from Seaside, look at the property and put the quote in writing.
(831) 200-5377 Dead brush, ladder fuels, weeds and dry grass cleared from the 100 feet around a home. The trees stay standing and the brush stays on the ground as mulch.
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We clear overgrown brush and poison oak off hillsides and fence lines. The masticating head grinds it into mulch where it stands, and the trees stay.
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We cut the dry grass and weeds on vacant lots, parcels, roadsides and lot lines before fire season. Send us a photo of your notice, and we put the quote in writing.
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We open up overgrown acreage, hillsides, ranch parcels and building sites with the masticating head and the brush mower. Brush and small trees become mulch in place, and the trees you keep stay standing.
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Our masticating head grinds brush and small trees into mulch where they stand. The ground is left under a mulch layer, and the trees you keep stay standing.
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We cut tall grass and light brush with a rotary brush mower on a compact track loader. Fields, pastures, road frontage and large lots get mowed once or every season.
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Fire breaks and fuel breaks cut along property lines, ridges, roads and driveways. Brush is masticated into mulch and grass mowed low, so a fire slows and crews have room to work.
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Vacant lots and ADU sites cleared to open ground. Weeds and grass are mowed, and brush is ground into mulch where it stands.
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We run seasonal vegetation management programs for HOAs, property managers, commercial properties and ranches. Grass is mowed and brush is masticated on a schedule built around notices and fire season.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Marina. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the property is and what needs clearing, and send photos if you have them. Call or text (831) 200-5377, or use the form, and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the brush, the lot or the letter you got. We look at the property and put the quote in writing.