Brentwood, CA

Brentwood bars home occupations from generating more traffic than a normal residence, but tutoring, counseling and music-instruction businesses get a carve-out: one vehicle and two…

Brentwood bans all signage for home-based businesses outright. Municipal Code § 17.840.008(H) prohibits "the display of signs or advertising devices identifying the home occupation,"…

Brentwood requires a home occupation use permit under Municipal Code Chapter 17.840 for any home-based business, even one using the residence only as a mailing address. The activity…

Under California Health and Safety Code Section 1597.45, small family day care homes (up to 8 children) and large family day care homes (up to 14 children) are treated as residential…

Government Code section 51035 forbids any California city, county, or city and county from prohibiting a cottage food operation in a residential dwelling. The local agency must pick…

California lets home cooks sell meals from their own kitchen under a microenterprise home kitchen operation (MEHKO) permit, capped at 30 meals a day, 90 a week, and $100,000 in annual…

Brentwood sets exterior noise limits of 60 dBA (residential and commercial) or 65 dBA (industrial) by day, dropping to 45 dBA residential/commercial and 60 dBA industrial at night…

Brentwood limits noisy construction and grading to weekdays 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (or 5:30 p.m. with city engineer approval), with no weekend work except an approved Saturday window of 8…

Brentwood requires a temporary use permit from community development for amplified sound activities that would exceed normal noise limits, reviewed by police, capped at four occasions…

Brentwood enforces barking-dog and noisy-animal complaints through the Contra Costa County Animal Services Department, adopted by reference in Municipal Code Section 6.12.010. A…

Powered lawn and gardening equipment in Brentwood may be operated from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM on weekdays and Saturdays, and from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sundays and holidays. Electric and…

Unincorporated Contra Costa County has no general noise ordinance and no codified residential quiet hours: the County Ordinance Code (current through May 28, 2026) contains no noise…

Vehicle noise in unincorporated Contra Costa County is enforced under the California Vehicle Code: mufflers are required (CVC §27150), modified exhausts can't exceed factory noise…

California sets statewide airport noise limits under Title 21 CCR, with the state preempting most local aviation noise control because federal FAA authority dominates aircraft…

Vehicles parked in a Brentwood front yard or unfenced side yard must sit entirely on a paved driveway area or matching driveway extension, and only passenger vehicles, motorcycles…

Brentwood runs an expedited, streamlined building-permit process for electric vehicle charging stations under Municipal Code Chapter 15.14, adopted to implement Government Code Section…

Brentwood lets homeowners store an RV, boat, trailer or motorhome in a side or rear yard, but never in a front yard or unfenced side yard. Side and rear yard storage caps height at…

Painting a street or curb surface anywhere in Brentwood without city authorization is illegal under Municipal Code Section 10.06.120. The one exception is curb house numbers, which are…

Brentwood lets the city engineer create permit parking areas in neighborhoods overwhelmed by outside parking demand under Municipal Code Section 10.13.280. Once posted with permit…

Where Brentwood has posted nighttime parking signs or curb markings, Municipal Code Section 10.13.230 bars parking, standing or stopping a vehicle during the hours posted. 'Nighttime'…

Brentwood treats any abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle left on private or public property (other than a highway) for more than ten days as a public nuisance…

Brentwood caps loading zones at half of any block's total curb length, with the city engineer marking commercial loading curbs in yellow paint and passenger loading in white or yellow…

Brentwood restricts overnight parking of commercial vehicles exceeding 10,000 lbs gross vehicle weight rating in residential zones. Box trucks, semi-trailers, dump trucks, and similar…

Brentwood enforces a 72-hour maximum continuous street parking limit consistent with California Vehicle Code §22651(k), along with posted street sweeping restrictions and permit-only…

California doesn't ban private-property towing, but Vehicle Code Section 22658 controls how it happens. A posted sign at least 17 by 22 inches must warn drivers before a tow company…

Brentwood requires a permit before anyone trims, cuts, or removes a street tree or city-owned tree. Municipal Code § 7.03.030 makes it unlawful to trim, cut, mutilate, or injure any…

Brentwood property owners must trim trees overhanging a public street, alley, or place to keep at least 10 feet of clearance above a sidewalk and 15 feet above the street. Municipal…

Brentwood bans irrigating with potable water between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. year-round and for 48 hours after measurable rain. The rule sits in the city's water-waste code, enforced by the…

Contra Costa County Agricultural Commissioner maintains the noxious weed list under California Food and Agricultural Code Section 5004. Brentwood property owners must control listed…

California law strongly encourages drought-tolerant landscaping in Brentwood. HOAs cannot prohibit low-water landscaping under Civil Code Section 4735, and the state's MWELO requires…

Since SB 676 took effect in 2024, Government Code 53087.7 protects only drought-tolerant living landscaping from local bans, so cities may again prohibit artificial turf. Civil Code…

SB 1383 requires every California resident and business to separate food scraps and yard waste from trash, with universal collection or on-site composting.

The 2012 Rainwater Capture Act allows California residents to capture rainwater from rooftops for non-potable outdoor use without a state water-right permit, preempting most local…

Brentwood bans hunting, trapping, harming or possessing wild birds in city parks and open space. Municipal Code § 7.02.180(K) and (L) make it unlawful to molest, chase, shoot or trap…

Dogs in Brentwood city parks must be leashed with a lead no longer than six feet, except in designated off-leash areas. Municipal Code § 7.02.180(R) also makes owners responsible for…

Brentwood's general commercial (C-2) zone permits a veterinarian or pet store outright but expressly carves kennels out of that permission, and the same "excluding kennels" split…

Brentwood limits chickens, rabbits, and livestock to residential zones that allow them, with strict numeric caps and setbacks. The R-E zone permits up to 2 large livestock or 4 small…

Brentwood residential properties may keep no more than five dogs or cats over six months old. A household wanting six or more dogs must get a use permit for a dog fancier's license…

Brentwood's zoning code flatly bars pet grooming and boarding from qualifying as a home occupation under Municipal Code Section 17.840.007(C). Anyone who wants to groom or board…

Brentwood enforces Contra Costa County's behavior-based dangerous and vicious dog ordinance through Animal Services. Any dog that bites, attacks, or threatens a person or animal can be…

Beekeeping is permitted in Brentwood on agricultural and most residential lots, with hive setback requirements from property lines and registration with the Contra Costa County…

California bans most exotic pets statewide under Title 14 CCR §671, which preempts local ordinances. Prohibited species include ferrets, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, monkeys, large…

Wildlife in Brentwood (deer, coyotes, turkeys, raccoons, hawks, and mountain lions in nearby Los Vaqueros Watershed) is protected under state law and managed by the California…

Contra Costa County's Animal Services Department requires spay or neuter surgery before releasing certain impounded dogs. An unlicensed, unaltered dog picked up under Section 416-8.002…

Contra Costa County's Animal Services Department will not release an impounded dog or cat without a microchip. Section 416-8.020 requires every animal picked up under Section 416-8.002…

Brentwood enforces the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, Title 24 Part 7, as amended by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, with the fire chief handling…

Brentwood bans burning solid waste, organic waste or recyclables outright in any street, alley, park or public place under Section 8.16.140. On private property, Section 8.16.150…

Brentwood bans using, possessing, discharging, selling, storing or making fireworks anywhere in the city under Section 8.48.020, with no exception for so-called safe-and-sane…

California Public Resources Code Section 4291 requires 100 feet of defensible space around structures in State Responsibility Areas and in any CAL FIRE mapped fire hazard severity…

All Brentwood dwelling units must have working smoke alarms under California Health and Safety Code 13113.7 and 13113.8. Alarms are required inside each sleeping room, outside each…

Backyard burning in unincorporated Contra Costa County is tightly limited: BAAQMD Regulation 5 prohibits burning yard waste, and recreational wood fires aren't among its allowed…

California uniformly applies the State Fire Marshal's propane storage standards through the California Fire Code, which all local jurisdictions must enforce as a minimum.

Brentwood does not issue short-term rental permits because it does not allow short-term rentals at all. Municipal Code Section 17.796.003 makes it unlawful to rent any dwelling unit…

Brentwood applies standard residential occupancy limits to short-term rentals. California Building Code and the Uniform Housing Code generally support a 2-persons-per-bedroom-plus-1…

Short-term rental guests in Brentwood must follow the same parking rules as any other residents. On-site parking should accommodate guest vehicles to avoid impacts on neighbors…

Unincorporated Contra Costa County does not set a minimum liability-insurance requirement for short-term rental hosts. The STR rules in Ordinance Code Chapter 88-32 focus on the…

Unincorporated Contra Costa County escalates fines every time a short-term rental host repeats a Chapter 88-32 violation: $100 for a first registration or business-license lapse…

Contra Costa County caps how many nights a short-term rental in the unincorporated area can operate each calendar year: ninety days for a non-hosted rental where the owner isn't on…

A 'hosted' short-term rental in unincorporated Contra Costa County requires the host to be physically present at their primary residence, on the same lot as the rental, for the entire…

Unincorporated Contra Costa County regulates short-term rental noise under Ordinance Code Chapter 88-32: no fixed decibel limit or quiet-hours window, but excessive noise inconsistent…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Contra Costa County pay a 10% Transient Occupancy Tax on stays of 30 days or less. Hosts must register with the county within 30 days of starting…

Chapter 17.715 lets one ADU and one JADU onto qualifying lots in the RE, R-1-E, R-1, R-2, R-3, COR, CR and PEC zones. Detached ADUs cap at 16 feet high (up to 20 near transit), size…

Brentwood limits a portable shed in a rear or side yard to 120 square feet of floor area and a height no greater than the adjacent fence, up to 7 feet. Sheds cannot sit in the front…

Brentwood charges development impact fees on accessory dwelling units through its adopted development fee program, but waives them for any ADU under 750 square feet and for junior ADUs…

Brentwood requires the property owner to live on-site when a junior accessory dwelling unit is added, occupying either the main house or the JADU itself, but the same chapter imposes…

Contra Costa County bars owners from renting an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit for less than thirty days, closing off short-term rental use of ADUs built…

Contra Costa County allows an attached ADU to be created through an internal conversion of an existing garage; no setback is required for an existing garage being converted to an ADU…

Brentwood outlaws barbed wire, razor wire, electrified fencing, and chain link visible from public areas in every residential zone. Commercial properties can use these materials only…

Brentwood residential fences top out at 7 feet along side and rear lines, drop to 42 inches in the front yard, and shrink to 42 inches inside the corner-lot sight triangle…

Brentwood caps a single retaining wall at 4 feet and requires benching with a 2-foot horizontal gap between walls on taller embankments. A building permit is mandatory once a wall…

Hedges and landscaping used as boundary barriers in Brentwood are subject to the same height limits as fences (3.5 ft front, 6 ft side/rear) when used to enclose a yard. Hedges must…

Building permits are not required for fences up to 7 feet tall in unincorporated Contra Costa County. Taller fences, any concrete or masonry wall, and retaining walls over 3 feet…

Above-ground pools in Brentwood are regulated by the California Building Standards Code and the Swimming Pool Safety Act (Health & Safety Code 115920-115929). New or remodeled pools…

Residential swimming pools and spas in Brentwood must meet California Health and Safety Code Section 115920 through 115929, which requires at least two of seven enumerated safety…

Brentwood charges a 10 percent transient occupancy tax on hotel and short-term rental stays of 30 days or less, collected by the operator and remitted to the city's tax administrator…

Brentwood Municipal Code Chapter 13.06 makes recycled water the mandatory first choice for landscape, commercial and industrial uses whenever it is available, and treats using potable…

Brentwood licenses cardrooms under Municipal Code Chapter 5.56, charging $100 per card table per year and capping hours: cardrooms must close between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. except on…

California Penal Code § 326.5 lets only tax-exempt nonprofits, mobilehome park associations, senior groups, and school-affiliated charities run bingo, and only under a local city or…

California law exempts private home card games from gambling regulation entirely. Penal Code § 337j(e)(2)(D) excludes any card game played in a private home or residence from the…

California has no legal sports betting, in stores or online. Penal Code section 337a criminalizes bookmaking, pool-selling, and placing or accepting any bet on the result of a sporting…

Brentwood requires a city sidewalk vending permit under Municipal Code Chapter 5.64 before anyone sells food or goods from a cart or on foot on public sidewalks. Vending is limited to…

Mobile food facilities operating in Brentwood must hold a Contra Costa County Environmental Health mobile food permit, a California seller's permit, a Brentwood business license, and…

Brentwood regulates where food trucks may operate through zoning and time-and-place rules consistent with SB 946 and SB 972. Trucks generally may operate on private commercial property…

Brentwood requires every person who works with food in a food-handling establishment, paid or not, to obtain a health permit from the health officer within thirty days of starting…

Brentwood's public nuisance code treats standing water that breeds insects or rodents, and any property condition that attracts or harbors vectors, as an unlawful public nuisance under…

Contra Costa County's color-coded placard program posts inspection results at every permitted food facility. Green means passed, yellow means a conditional pass, red means the permit…

Brentwood requires an annual police department permit to operate a massage establishment, on top of CAMTC therapist certification, and bans massage services between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m…

Every store selling tobacco products in Brentwood needs a tobacco retailer's license under Municipal Code Chapter 5.76, and the city caps citywide licenses at 41. New licenses are…

Running an auto repair, maintenance or service business out of a Brentwood home is flatly illegal. Municipal Code § 17.840.007(G) lists "automotive repair, maintenance or other…

Brentwood confines adult-oriented businesses to six named planned development zones and keeps them 1,000 feet from any residential district, school, park, church, or other adult…

Brentwood bans aggressive or intrusive solicitation citywide and bars all begging within set distances of ATMs, transit stops, parking structures, schools and parks. A first offense is…

Brentwood makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate outside a restroom in any public area, in view of the public, or on another's private property without consent. The offense is a…

Brentwood bans drinking beer, wine or liquor on any public street, alley, sidewalk, parkway or public parking area. Licensed dining establishments with an ABC on-sale license are…

Brentwood parks and facilities close at sunset. Municipal Code § 7.02.180(P) makes it unlawful to be, remain, stay, or loiter in any city park or facility from sunset to sunrise, or…

Brentwood pedestrians must cross a roadway at right angles to the curb, take the shortest route to the opposite curb, or use a marked crosswalk under Municipal Code Section 10.11.020…

Brentwood bans skateboarding, bicycling, and roller skating on named downtown sidewalks under Municipal Code Section 10.12.010, including stretches of First, Second, Chestnut, Oak, and…

Brentwood bans smoking in every city park and recreation facility except areas the city marks off for it. Chapter 7.02 covers all parks, ball fields, picnic areas, trails and parking…

Hosting or allowing a gathering of three or more people under 21 where alcohol is present or being consumed on property you control is a misdemeanor in unincorporated Contra Costa…

Brentwood adopts Part 3, the California Electrical Code, as part of the 2025 California Building Standards Code under Municipal Code Section 15.04.010. Electrical permit fees are set…

Brentwood adopts the 2025 California Building Standards Code by reference under Municipal Code Section 15.04.010, covering the Building Code, Residential Code and every other title-24…

Brentwood adopts Part 5, the California Plumbing Code, by reference under Municipal Code Section 15.04.010, then locally amends CPC Section 1208.5 in Section 15.04.020 to ban…

Brentwood enforces the California Green Building Standards Code, Title 24 Part 11, as part of the 2025 California Building Standards Code it adopts by reference for every building…

Brentwood only requires fire sprinklers in an accessory dwelling unit when the primary house on the same lot is already required to have them, and building an ADU never forces the…

Brentwood follows federal and California lead-paint disclosure rules for pre-1978 rental housing. Landlords must provide tenants with the EPA pamphlet and a written disclosure of known…

Grading work under a Contra Costa County permit is checked at three defined stages under Section 716-6.006: initial, once the site is cleared and prepped before fill goes in; rough…

Child care centers licensed for more than 12 children are classified as Group E occupancies under the county's amended California Fire Code, and Section 903.2.3 requires an automatic…

Brentwood bans medicinal and non-medicinal cannabis dispensaries, cultivation facilities and delivery in every zoning district. No permit or license can be issued for any commercial…

Every commercial cannabis business in unincorporated Contra Costa County must stay at least one thousand feet from any K-12 school, day care center, youth center, or drug treatment…

Health and Safety Code section 11362.2 grants every adult 21 or older the statewide right to cultivate up to six cannabis plants indoors, and bars local governments from completely…

Planting a tree in the Brentwood parkway strip requires an encroachment permit from the engineering department. Municipal Code § 7.03.060 makes it unlawful to plant any tree or…

Within the PD-20 planned development zone, Brentwood Municipal Code § 17.470.006 protects native oak trees of four-inch caliper or greater from grading, trenching and construction…

Contra Costa County protects registered heritage trees countywide under Ordinance Code Chapter 816-4. A heritage tree is any tree seventy-two inches or more in trunk circumference, or…

Brentwood must issue a building permit within three days for a complete small residential rooftop solar application under 10 kilowatts AC, and can require only one consolidated…

California Civil Code §714 (the Solar Rights Act) overrides HOA restrictions that would prohibit residential solar panels or make them significantly more expensive or less efficient…

Brentwood issues solar photovoltaic permits under the streamlined 3-business-day turnaround mandated by CA AB 2188 and the California Solar Rights Act (Civil Code §714). Most standard…

Electric bicycles on Brentwood's paved and unpaved trails cannot exceed 15 mph or the posted speed limit. Municipal Code § 7.06.030(D) sets this cap and, in § 7.06.030(B), lets e-bikes…

Brentwood's bicycle and pedestrian lanes are off-limits to motor vehicles under Municipal Code Section 10.10.070. It is unlawful to drive or park any car, motorcycle, motor scooter…

A low-speed vehicle in California may not be driven on any roadway with a speed limit above 35 miles per hour. Vehicle Code section 21260 permits it to cross a faster road only where…

Brentwood treats anything that blocks free passage on a public sidewalk, street, trail, or park as a nuisance. Municipal Code § 8.00.030(B)(2) covers vegetation, items, or debris that…

Brentwood puts the legal duty to repair and maintain the sidewalk in front of a property on that property's owner, not the city, under Municipal Code Section 12.12.010. An owner who…

Anyone who wants to use, build in, or go over, under, or upon a Brentwood public right-of-way needs an encroachment permit from the city engineer under Municipal Code Section…

Brentwood bars any non-stormwater discharge into its storm drain system and any stormwater discharge that violates the city's NPDES permit. Chapter 14.20 backs the ban with…

Brentwood requires a grading permit for most land-disturbing work and mandates erosion and sediment control measures on every graded site. Small disturbances under 10,000 square feet…

Brentwood requires new and substantially improved residential structures in flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor one foot above base flood elevation in A zones, or two feet…

Portions of Brentwood lie within FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), particularly along Marsh Creek, Sand Creek, Dry Creek, and Deer Creek corridors. Development in…

Contra Costa County's Electrical Code sets a minimum lighting standard for boat docks: at least two foot-candles of protective light at every point along docks, covered berths, and the…

The California Coastal Act, Public Resources Code sections 30000 through 30900, requires Coastal Development Permits for nearly all work in the coastal zone and gives the Coastal…

Once you set recyclables out for pickup in Brentwood, they legally belong to the city or its authorized hauler, not to you or a scavenger. Section 8.16.230 makes it unlawful for anyone…

Brentwood residents must set trash, recycling and organics carts at the curb with wheels in the gutter and the handle toward the house, at least three feet apart and six feet from…

Every occupied property in Brentwood must subscribe to city solid waste collection under Section 8.16.170: residents get weekly trash pickup plus organic waste and recyclable materials…

Brentwood businesses must subscribe to the city's three-container collection service, separating source-separated organic waste (green container) and recyclables (blue container) from…

Brentwood, California (Contra Costa County) puts the director of public works in charge of where commercial dumpsters, compactor bins and roll-off boxes sit for collection. Commercial…

Illegal dumping in Brentwood is a misdemeanor and civil violation under Municipal Code Chapter 8.12 and California Penal Code 374.3. Fines start at 100 dollars for first offenses and…

Brentwood requires single-stream recycling via the blue cart and organics via the green cart under California SB 1383. Acceptable recyclables include paper, cardboard, rigid plastics…

Brentwood Disposal Service provides weekly curbside collection for trash, recycling, and organics throughout Brentwood. Collection days are assigned by neighborhood route, and carts…

Brentwood caps outdoor lighting spill from every office and commercial property at one-half foot-candle measured at the lot line, requires exposed fixtures to be shielded, and treats…

Brentwood has no residential dark-sky ordinance, but its zoning code forces outdoor lighting in office, commercial and industrial zones to stay on-site. Brentwood Municipal Code §…

Brentwood bars open flames, campfires, and barbecues in city parks and facilities without the director's permission, and portable barbecues specifically require a permit under Section…

Downtown Brentwood is not zoned like the rest of the city: § 17.280.002 hands control of land use and design in the DT zone to the downtown specific plan, which replaces the standard…

Brentwood implements California's State Density Bonus Law through Chapter 17.720, requiring density bonus, incentive, waiver and parking-reduction requests to be filed with the…

Brentwood bars minors under 18 from public places between 10 p.m. and midnight Sunday through Thursday, and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. every night including weekends, under Brentwood…

Brentwood parks are open only from sunrise to sunset unless otherwise posted, and Municipal Code Section 7.02.090 bars anyone from entering or staying between sunset and sunrise…

Brentwood residents planning a block party must get the chief of police to approve any temporary closing of a street under Municipal Code Section 10.04.120. The chief signs off only…

Any parade, festival or public assembly in Brentwood, including one held on a city street, sidewalk or right-of-way, needs a special event permit from the parks and recreation director…

Any event held in a Brentwood park or facility needs a special event permit from the parks and recreation director under Municipal Code Section 7.02.020, valid for up to 12 months…

Any street fair, festival, or similar event on Brentwood city property, including a city street, sidewalk, alley, or other right-of-way, needs a special event permit from the parks and…

A downtown Brentwood restaurant that wants outdoor seating in the public right-of-way needs an outdoor dining permit and design review approval under Municipal Code Section 17.900.004…

A film shoot that already holds a county filming permit under Chapter 56-8 does not need a separate temporary event permit for the same activity, but the production must still carry at…

Brentwood's Right to Farm ordinance, Municipal Code Chapter 8.01, shields agricultural operations on the city's East County farmland from nuisance lawsuits and complaints filed by…

Brentwood's Right to Farm ordinance, Municipal Code Chapter 8.01, shields properly run agricultural operations near development from nuisance complaints over noise, odor, dust and…

Before Brentwood approves a condominium conversion, it requires the CC&Rs to be reviewed and approved by the community development director and city attorney, and the city writes…

HOA fines in Brentwood are governed by Davis-Stirling. Civil Code 5855 requires written notice and a due-process hearing before any discipline, Civil Code 5850 requires a published…

Davis-Stirling requires HOAs to offer Internal Dispute Resolution (Civil Code 5900) and Alternative Dispute Resolution (Civil Code 5925+) before most lawsuits between owners and…

California HOAs may levy regular and special assessments, charge late fees and interest, record liens, and ultimately foreclose on delinquent owners under the Davis-Stirling Act. State…

California's Davis-Stirling Act gives every HOA member the right to inspect and copy association records under Civil Code § 5205. Boards must produce current-year records within 10…

California voids any HOA governing-document clause that effectively bans or unreasonably restricts a clothesline or drying rack in an owner's exclusive-use backyard. Civil Code Section…

Civil Code section 4735 voids any HOA rule that bans low-water plants, turf replacement, or artificial turf, and bars fines for cutting back watering during a declared drought…

Civil Code § 4745 voids any HOA covenant or governing-document rule that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installing an EV charging station in an owner's unit or designated parking…

Civil Code § 4705 bars every California homeowners association from limiting a member's display of the United States flag on their own lot or within their exclusive-use common area…

A California homeowners association cannot foreclose on a member’s home over unpaid dues until the delinquent assessments alone reach $1,800, or until the assessments secured by the…

Civil Code § 4741 bars every California homeowners association from adopting or enforcing a rule that prohibits, or unreasonably restricts, renting out a separate interest, and sets a…

Brentwood has no permit written specifically for film shoots, but a production that needs a public street closed goes through the same encroachment permit process as any other…

Filming a commercial, movie, or video at a specific Brentwood site requires a temporary use permit under Municipal Code Section 17.850.007(D), reviewed administratively by the…

Noise from a Brentwood filming location, like any other temporary use, is a regulated nuisance factor under Municipal Code Section 17.850.009(E), and Section 17.850.008(G) subjects…

Brentwood outright prohibits new billboards and animated or electronic message signs. City code declares banning billboards a fundamental land use policy and lists animated signs…

Nonresidential temporary window signs in Brentwood cannot cover more than 25% of a store's aggregate window area and can be displayed only seven cumulative days per month per business…

Brentwood allows one on-site garage sale sign per residence and up to four off-site directional signs per sale, capped at 3x3 feet, displayed only on weekends and holidays and removed…

Political signs on private property in Brentwood are treated the same as other non-commercial yard signs under the city's content-neutral sign ordinance. State law limits the city's…

Brentwood bans the sale of flavored tobacco products outright, and separately bans the sale of electronic smoking devices altogether, under Municipal Code Sections 5.76.050 and…

California prohibits sale of tobacco and vapor products to anyone under 21 statewide under Business and Professions Code 22958, enacted by SBX2-7 in 2016. The Tobacco 21 standard…

Brentwood bans camping and storing personal property on any city-owned property under Municipal Code Section 7.02.150. Before removing belongings, the city must post a 48-hour Notice…

Brentwood's R-1 single-family zone sets a flat twenty-foot front and rear yard, but side yards scale with lot size. Municipal Code § 17.130.004 requires a five-foot minimum…

Brentwood caps residential building height by zone. In the RE (ranchette estate) zone, Municipal Code § 17.110.004(G) limits "any accessory or main building" to "two stories and…

In Brentwood's R-2 and R-3 multifamily zones, Municipal Code § 17.140.006(B) and § 17.150.004(H) both cap building footprint at forty percent: "the main building and all accessory…

Brentwood requires homes built after 1987 to keep at least half of the front yard and corner-lot side yard covered in living vegetation, and Section 8.36.030 counts vegetable gardens…

Brentwood treats overgrown weeds on any street, sidewalk or private parcel, vacant or not, as a fire hazard and a public nuisance under Section 8.36.035. Dry grass and cut vegetation…

Brentwood prohibits junk, wrecked, or inoperable vehicles stored in public view under Municipal Code Chapter 8.30. Vehicles must be operable, currently registered, and not in a state…

Brentwood runs a standing rental inspection program under Chapter 8.44 built to catch substandard housing before it turns into blight. Section 8.44.010 ties the whole chapter to…

When Brentwood approves a condominium conversion, senior, disabled, and lower-income tenants who stay under a special two- or three-year lease get their rent increases capped: the…

Brentwood bars landlords converting apartments to condominiums from evicting, threatening to evict, or harassing a tenant because that tenant refused to consent to the conversion or…

Brentwood requires owners of residential rental properties to obtain a city business license (the Transient Tax/rental business license) and pay the annual tax based on the number of…

California evictions run through the unlawful detainer process. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 1161, nonpayment requires a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit (excluding weekends and…

California Civil Code § 1954 limits when a landlord may enter a rented home. Except in emergencies, abandonment, or with tenant consent, the landlord must give reasonable written…

California sets no fixed dollar or percentage cap on rent late fees, but a late fee in a residential lease is treated as liquidated damages. Under Civil Code § 1671, such a fee is…

To end a California month-to-month tenancy, a tenant gives 30 days' written notice. A landlord gives 30 days if the tenant has lived there under a year, or 60 days if a year or more…

California limits annual rent increases statewide to 5% plus the local change in the cost of living, capped at 10%, under the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB-1482). It also lets…

As of July 1, 2024, California landlords may collect no more than one month's rent as a security deposit, regardless of whether the unit is furnished. The deposit, minus any lawful…

California adverse possession requires five years of continuous, open, hostile possession AND payment of all property taxes during that period under Code of Civil Procedure § 325. A…

Brentwood inspects the exterior of every rental property at least once every two years under Section 8.44.040, part of a proactive program covering all residential rentals except…

Brentwood's rental inspections are proactive, not complaint-driven, but Sections 8.44.050 through 8.44.080 spell out what happens once a deficiency turns up: a written notice to the…

Brentwood allows garage sales without any permit, but Municipal Code Section 17.850.006(E) caps them at three per year per property and two consecutive days each time. Sales beyond…

Brentwood does not maintain a municipal No Knock registry, but residents can rely on No Soliciting signs and the state Do Not Call Registry. California's Home Solicitation Sales Act…

Door-to-door commercial solicitors in Brentwood must obtain a Solicitor Permit from the Police Department and carry photo ID while soliciting. Solicitation hours are limited to 9 AM to…

California Civil Code 1708.8 makes it a civil tort to use a drone to capture images or recordings of someone in a private setting. Brentwood also enforces trespass and peeping laws…

Every business operating in unincorporated Contra Costa County splits into two license classes: Class A general businesses pay a $100 flat fee plus $10 per full-time-equivalent…

Contra Costa County has no codified decibel ordinance for stationary sources. A data center's cooling and generators are held to the 2045 General Plan land-use compatibility standard…

California sets a statewide minimum wage floor under Labor Code 1182.12, $16.90 per hour for all employers as of January 2026. Local governments are not preempted and may set higher…

California's Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act under Labor Code 245-249 mandates paid sick leave for nearly all employees statewide. SB 616 (2023) raised the minimum to 40 hours…

California regulates concealed carry weapons licenses statewide under Penal Code 26150 through 26225. Senate Bill 2 (2023) imposes uniform sensitive-place restrictions and applicant…

California preempts most local firearm regulation under Government Code 53071 and Penal Code 25605, reserving licensing, registration, and manufacture authority to the state. However…

California broadly prohibits open carry of firearms statewide under Penal Code 25850 (loaded firearms in public) and Penal Code 26350 (open carry of unloaded handguns). The prohibition…

California prohibits carrying loaded firearms in vehicles statewide under Penal Code 25400 and 25850. Unloaded handguns transported in private vehicles must be in a locked container or…

Sobriety checkpoints are lawful in California and stopping at one is a statutory obligation, not a courtesy. Vehicle Code § 2814.2(a) requires a driver to stop and submit to a sobriety…

California is one of the few states that answers this by statute rather than by case law alone. Penal Code § 148(g) says that photographing or making an audio or video recording of a…

California has no general stop-and-identify statute. The old Penal Code § 647(e), which required a person lawfully detained to give "credible and reliable" identification, was held…

California has no statute that requires you to consent to a search of your car, and none that requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What the Legislature and the voters…

California prohibits grocery stores and large retailers from providing single-use plastic carryout bags under Public Resources Code 42280-42288, enacted by SB 270 (2014) and ratified…

California restricts expanded polystyrene food containers statewide through SB 54 (2022) packaging requirements under Public Resources Code 42040-42081. The law mandates that…

California Public Resources Code 42270-42273, enacted by AB 1884 (2018), prohibits full-service restaurants from providing single-use plastic straws unless requested by the customer…

California works from a closed list: Vehicle Code section 24003 says no vehicle may carry any lamp or illuminating device not required or permitted by the code, so an accessory light…

California measures dash cam placement in square inches. Vehicle Code section 26708(b)(13) lets a video event recorder occupy a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield…

Lane splitting is lawful in California. Vehicle Code section 21658.1, added by AB 51 in 2016, defines it as driving a motorcycle with two wheels in contact with the ground between rows…

California does not let you put a cover over your license plate. Vehicle Code section 5201(c) allows exactly two things: a full car cover on a lawfully parked vehicle, and a license…

No section of the California Vehicle Code makes it an offense for a private motorist to own, carry or use a radar detector. The prohibition in Vehicle Code section 28150 reaches only…

California permits metal studded tires only between November 1 and April 30, and only where the studs are tungsten carbide or another suitable material and the metal touching the road…

California never publishes a "legal VLT" for front side windows because it does not permit aftermarket darkening there at all. Vehicle Code section 26708(d) allows only clear…