Nevada County, CA Ordinances (2026)

Unincorporated Nevada County has no classic curfew-style quiet-hours ordinance. Instead the General Plan Noise Element sets time-based exterior noise limits that tighten at night (10…

Unincorporated Nevada County does not have a county-wide ordinance setting fixed construction hours. Construction activity is expressly exempt from the County's exterior noise…

Nevada County Code Section G-IV 1.50 makes it unlawful and a nuisance for an animal owner to allow frequent or continuous irritating or raucous noise that disturbs the neighborhood for…

Aircraft noise around Nevada County and Truckee Tahoe airports is managed through Airport Land Use Compatibility Plans adopted by the airport land use commissions, which the County…

Industrial uses in unincorporated Nevada County must meet the General Plan exterior noise limits, which cap industrial (M1, M2) zones at 80 dBA Leq and 90 dBA Lmax at any time, with…

Unincorporated Nevada County has no stand-alone amplified-music ordinance. Amplified sound is regulated through the General Plan exterior noise standards and, for organized events…

Vehicle noise in unincorporated Nevada County is primarily controlled through the California Vehicle Code. The County's General Plan directs the Sheriff and CHP to enforce state…

All fireworks are banned throughout unincorporated Nevada County, including state-approved "Safe and Sane" types. Nevada County is a non-permissive jurisdiction because of extreme…

Most of unincorporated Nevada County is mapped as High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone by CAL FIRE and the State Fire Marshal under Government Code 51178. Unincorporated lands…

Open burning of dry vegetation in unincorporated Nevada County is allowed only on declared "permissive burn days" set by the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD)…

Backyard fires in unincorporated Nevada County fall into two regulated buckets: open burning of yard debris (allowed only on NSAQMD permissive burn days, with a CAL FIRE permit) and…

Property owners in unincorporated Nevada County must maintain 100 feet of defensible space around structures under California PRC 4291, and the county's Hazardous Vegetation and…

Nevada County does not maintain a citywide commercial-vehicle parking grid, so commercial-truck parking in unincorporated areas is governed mainly by California Vehicle Code authority…

Building, paving, or modifying a driveway that connects to a Nevada County road requires an Encroachment Permit from Public Works, and the driveway must meet County design standards…

Unincorporated Nevada County has no countywide blanket overnight on-street parking ban, but overnight occupancy of an RV is limited by Code 12.03.150, vehicles left 72+ hours can be…

Nevada County runs an Abandoned Vehicle Abatement (AVA) program for vehicles on county roads under California Vehicle Code authority, and treats abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or…

In unincorporated Nevada County, recreational vehicles may be stored on private residential parcels, but using an RV for temporary occupancy is regulated by Code Section 12.03.150…

Unincorporated Nevada County does not impose general on-street time limits on most rural county roads, but parking on the public right-of-way is restricted during snow removal and is…

In unincorporated Nevada County, California, Section 12.04.106 of the County Code (formerly Land Use & Development Code) sets fence and hedge heights by yard and zone. In residential…

Nevada County's Fencing and Hedges section (Sec. 12.04.106) sets zoning height limits but does not, on its face, require a planning permit for an ordinary code-compliant fence. A…

Nevada County's Sec. 12.04.106 does not prohibit specific fence materials. It allows wood, metal, wire, fabric, boards, and masonry walls, but regulates them by whether they are 'open'…

In unincorporated Nevada County, the Building Setbacks section (Sec. 12.04.105) exempts retaining walls less than 4 feet in height above finished grade from setback requirements as a…

Unincorporated Nevada County adopted Ordinance ORD24-2 (Board action Jan. 14, 2025) amending Title 12 to allow Tiny Homes on Wheels (THOWs) up to 400 sq ft as permanent dwellings…

In unincorporated Nevada County, ADUs and JADUs are reviewed ministerially and are governed primarily by California State ADU Law (Gov. Code 66310 et seq.). A completed application…

Unincorporated Nevada County allows small detached sheds without a building permit. One-story detached accessory structures up to 120 sq ft are unlimited in number, and structures up…

Converting an existing garage into an ADU in unincorporated Nevada County is handled ministerially under California ADU Law. No replacement parking may be required when a garage…

In unincorporated Nevada County, dogs and other animals may not run at large on public or private property. An animal is deemed at large when off the owner's premises and not under…

In unincorporated Nevada County, dogs and cats are limited to no more than 3 total in the R1, R2, R3, commercial, and industrial districts. On parcels of 0.5 acre or less, the maximum…

In unincorporated Nevada County, wild, exotic, or non-domestic animals require special authorization from the Department of Animal Control under General Code Section G-IV 1.55, and may…

Unincorporated Nevada County allows backyard chickens in RA and R1 zoning on lots under 0.5 acre, scaled by lot size: 4 hens at 6,000 sq ft, 8 at 10,000 sq ft, 14 at 20,000 sq ft…

Unincorporated Nevada County allows apiaries under its Animal Keeping and Raising standards. No apiary may be located within 100 feet of any other property boundary without the…

Nevada County does not ban specific dog breeds. California Food & Agricultural Code Section 31683 preempts breed-specific dangerous-dog ordinances; counties may only adopt…

Removing a hazardous or dead tree for defensible space is required under the Hazardous Vegetation Abatement ordinance and needs no county permit. But removing protected oaks or trees…

Routine pruning of your own trees needs no county permit. However, the Hazardous Vegetation Abatement ordinance (Sec. G-IV 7.4) requires owners to prune ladder fuels, remove dead/dying…

Unincorporated Nevada County does not run a cosmetic lawn-height program. The only enforceable grass standard is fire-driven: the Hazardous Vegetation Abatement ordinance (Article 7…

Nevada County government does not run a single countywide outdoor-watering schedule. Outdoor water use in unincorporated areas is governed by California's permanent water-waste…

Nevada County Environmental Health registers and permits cottage food operations under California's cottage food law (AB-1616 / Health and Safety Code 113758). Class A (direct sales)…

Section 12.03.110 of the Nevada County Zoning Regulations allows limited commercial activity from a residence as an accessory use in residential and rural districts. The home business…

Under Nevada County Code Section 12.03.110, a home business that requires a permit may have one on-site freestanding or wall sign limited to a maximum of four square feet, and it may…

Home businesses in unincorporated Nevada County are limited to six business-related round trips per day, confined to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with all business…

Under California Health and Safety Code 1597.45, a small or large family daycare home is a residential use by right in all zoning districts. Nevada County cannot require a conditional…

Nevada County has no three-strikes STR permit system, but TOT enforcement escalates sharply: 10% penalty for late remittance, a second 10% after 30 days, a 25% fraud penalty, 1.5%…

Unincorporated Nevada County does not impose a special short-term-rental occupancy cap. Because there is no STR permit ordinance, guest counts are governed only by general building and…

Unincorporated Nevada County levies a 10% Transient Occupancy Tax on rentals of 30 days or less, authorized under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280 and Nevada County…

Unincorporated Nevada County does NOT limit short-term rentals to primary residences. The County's FAQs confirm there are no restrictions on renting rooms within a residence or on…

The only registration required in unincorporated Nevada County is a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Certificate. Any property in the unincorporated area rented to transients for less…

Since May 1, 2017, Airbnb has collected and remitted Nevada County's 10% TOT on all Airbnb bookings, with no host opt-out. Hosts remain personally responsible for collecting and…

Nevada County's residential pool safety rules mirror California's Swimming Pool Safety Act. Beyond the enclosure, doors and low windows giving direct pool access must have…

In unincorporated Nevada County, a building permit is required to construct an in-ground or permanent swimming pool. The County Building Department will not issue a swimming pool…

Nevada County has no data-center-specific ordinance. A data center is treated as an industrial use and belongs in the BP (Business Park), M1 (Light Industrial), or M2 (Heavy…

Nevada County's General Plan Noise Element (Policy 9.1.2, Table 9.1) sets the noise ceiling. Data-center cooling and generators are measured at a neighboring home or school, where the…