Stanislaus County, CA Ordinances (2026)

In unincorporated Stanislaus County, construction equipment cannot exceed a 75 decibel average sound level at the property line of any dwelling between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The…

County code treats a barking or howling animal as a nuisance when it causes annoyance to two or more neighbors living in separate residences, or even just one if circumstances warrant…

Stanislaus County exempts residential maintenance noise, lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and similar equipment, from its noise ordinance, but only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Outside…

Stanislaus County Code § 10.46.060(C) bars operating any audio equipment between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. so that it is audible inside another inhabited dwelling. Parallel subsections…

Under Code § 10.46.060(D), sound-amplifying equipment and live music anywhere in unincorporated Stanislaus County may not be audible to the human ear beyond 200 feet from the source…

Stanislaus County's noise control ordinance does not apply to aircraft, including helicopters. Chapter 10.46 exempts locomotives, railroad equipment, and aircraft outright, leaving…

Stanislaus County Code § 10.46.050 sets maximum exterior sound levels for the unincorporated county based on the noise zone of the receiving property. Noise-sensitive sites and…

Stanislaus County's Noise Control Ordinance sets clock-based limits on car and truck stereos in the unincorporated county. Between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., a vehicle sound system can't be…

Running a business from a house in unincorporated Stanislaus County requires it to qualify as a 'home occupation' under Chapter 21.94 of the County Code. The Department of Planning and…

A home occupation in unincorporated Stanislaus County cannot turn the surrounding street into a business parking lot. Section 21.94.020(F) caps the pedestrian and vehicle traffic a…

A home-based business in unincorporated Stanislaus County can post exactly one sign, and it cannot be bigger than two square feet. Section 21.94.020(H) treats any larger sign, or any…

Stanislaus County treats a licensed family day care home for fourteen or fewer children as an accessory residential use under Zoning Code Section 21.12.225, allowed in any home without…

In Stanislaus County's Rural Residential (R-A) district, any building used for keeping livestock or poultry must sit at least fifty feet from any public street and forty feet from any…

Stanislaus County does not require cat owners to license their cats. Section 7.54.070 makes it voluntary, unlike the mandatory four-month dog license. Owners who buy one qualify for a…

Stanislaus County requires anyone keeping bees to register their apiary with the agricultural commissioner under state Food and Agricultural Code Section 29044, but the Board of…

Stanislaus County requires a litter permit from the Stanislaus Animal Services Agency before any dog or cat may breed, part of a scheme the board of supervisors adopted to curb pet…

Every dog and cat adopted from the county shelter must be microchipped by SASA before leaving. Reclaimed pets that show up at the shelter without a current license or other permanent…

There's no flat cap on pets per household, but keeping five or more dogs or cats over four months old makes the property a "kennel" under Section 7.08.080, and Section 7.24.010…

Stanislaus County doesn't ban retail pet sales: Section 7.54.050 only bars selling, bartering, or giving away an unaltered dog or cat under six months old in a public place, streets…

Stanislaus County has no breed-specific ban; instead Chapter 7.28 lets SASA investigate any animal reported to show "a propensity to attack, bite, scratch, or harass" without…

County code caps every leash at eight feet and bars letting an animal roam off-lead, trespass onto private property, make habitual noise, or become a public nuisance. Section 7.16.010…

Keeping any animal "not commonly kept or raised in the county as a domesticated animal" that could be dangerous to health or safety requires a license from SASA before you may possess…

Any itinerant or street vendor operating in unincorporated Stanislaus County, selling goods, services, or soliciting orders outside a fixed business, must first get a permit from the…

Stanislaus County treats mobile food vehicles and itinerant restaurants as restaurants under Chapter 6.48, so operators need a health-officer-issued permit before serving food anywhere…

In unincorporated Stanislaus County, mobile food vendors and other itinerant vendors can only set up on privately owned property zoned commercial, industrial, or highway frontage…

Stanislaus County's Fire Code amendments exempt small barbecue propane tanks from the LP-gas installation permit that otherwise applies countywide. Under amended Section 6101.2, a…

Stanislaus County exempts small propane cookers from its fire-code permit rule: Section 16.55.040(V), amending 2025 California Fire Code Section 6101.2, lets you fill and use an LP-gas…

Stanislaus County bans overnight parking on specific unincorporated roads under Ordinance Code § 11.08.070, adopted under Vehicle Code § 22507 authority. Broadway Avenue is closed to…

Stanislaus County makes it an infraction to abandon a vehicle on a highway, public property or private property, or to leave one parked on a highway for 72 or more consecutive hours…

Stanislaus County bars parking within 100 feet of any bus or transit stop marked with a red curb or posted sign, under County Code § 11.08.140. Only county public works staff, or…

Stanislaus County marks specific unincorporated curbs yellow or white to create loading zones under Code §§ 11.12.010–11.12.040, following Vehicle Code § 21458 curb-color authority…

Stanislaus County time-limits on-street parking to two hours on designated unincorporated roads under Code § 11.08.060, adopted under Vehicle Code § 21458 curb-marking authority…

Stanislaus County bans parking or standing any commercial vehicle rated 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or more on residential-district streets in the unincorporated county under…

Franchise haulers in unincorporated Stanislaus County must give every residential customer two free bulky-item pickups a year under Section 9.08.135, with items scheduled two weeks…

Stanislaus County bars residential trash and recycling pickup before 5 a.m. or after 6 p.m. in unincorporated residential districts under Section 9.04.170, with a later 9 p.m. cutoff…

Stanislaus County caps how long a trash or recycling cart can sit at the curb: Section 9.04.110 bars containers from a street or alley right-of-way for more than 24 hours before or…

Stanislaus County bars dumping discarded materials on your own or anyone else's property without the environmental resources department's approval, and backs the ban with escalating…

Stanislaus County's refuse code defines grass clippings, leaves, tree and shrub trimmings, weeds, and untreated wood from yard work as "garden waste," a subset of the organic materials…

Multifamily and commercial properties in unincorporated Stanislaus County place their carts, drop boxes, and bins under Section 9.04.130: next to the nearest state- or…

Owners and occupants in Stanislaus County's mandatory collection service area must subscribe to at least weekly discarded-materials service with their assigned franchise collector…

Every single-family household in Stanislaus County's mandatory collection service area must separate its trash into the recyclables, organics, and solid-waste containers its franchise…

Stanislaus County requires any vehicle burglar alarm to shut itself off within fifteen minutes of activation. If it doesn't, sheriff's deputies may disconnect it, a rule drawn from the…

In Stanislaus County parks and campgrounds, Section 18.04.250 sets quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., during which amplified sound, equipment, electronics and machinery, including…

In unincorporated Stanislaus County it is unlawful for any itinerant vendor to sell property, food, or services, or solicit orders at a private residence, home, or apartment unless the…

A storefront cannabis retailer, the closest thing to a walk-in dispensary, may operate in unincorporated Stanislaus County only within the General Commercial (C-2) district, and only…

Commercial cannabis activities in unincorporated Stanislaus County cannot locate within six hundred feet of any day care center, youth center, park, or school, under Section…

Stanislaus County charges an 8% transient occupancy tax on every hotel stay in the unincorporated area, and the Hotel Tax chapter's broad "hotel" definition sweeps in short-term…

County parks in Stanislaus County open at six a.m. and close at ten p.m. under Code § 18.06.180, except designated camping areas at regional parks, which stay open overnight, and OHV…

In unincorporated Stanislaus County, Code § 10.28.010 makes it unlawful for anyone under 18 to loiter on a public street or in any other public place between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m…

Anyone excavating in a county highway or other public place, or installing a siphon, bridge, pipeline or conduit across one, needs board of supervisors permission and a road…

Grass, weeds, or other growth blocking a sidewalk, parking strip, or street in unincorporated Stanislaus County is a declared public nuisance under Section 9.20.020 whenever it creates…

In Stanislaus County flood hazard areas, accessory structures classified as Utility and Miscellaneous Group U, sheds, barns, private garages, and fences over six feet, among others…

Stanislaus County requires a county-approved drainage plan before it issues a building permit for commercial, industrial, multi-family, or large-subdivision projects likely to affect…

Stanislaus County bans any nonstormwater discharge into the county's stormwater conveyance system outside a short exemption list. Even an exempt discharge loses its exemption the…

Any cabin, house, hotel, apiary, incinerator or other structure on or next to mountainous, forest or brush-covered land in unincorporated Stanislaus County must be surrounded by a…

Anyone planning development in a Stanislaus County flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit before work begins. Section 16.50.310 requires an application to the county's…

Stanislaus County bars planting trees, shrubs or vines within 10 feet of a county road right-of-way, 15 feet for walnut and large ornamental shade trees, under Code § 11.27.030. If…

Stanislaus County pushes new landscaping toward native and drought-tolerant plants rather than mandating a specific native-species list. Section 21.102.040(B) requires at least ninety…

Stanislaus County's standing water conservation ordinance bans outdoor watering between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily and limits it to two days a week by address parity, odd addresses on…

Stanislaus County lets residents manage yard and food waste on site instead of hauling it to the curb, but caps any "community composting" operation at one hundred cubic yards of…

Stanislaus County has no fixed inch limit for grass or weeds; instead Chapter 9.20 declares weeds and rank growth a public nuisance whenever they become a fire menace or a menace to…

Stanislaus County requires every secondhand merchant in the unincorporated area to hold a treasurer-tax collector license before buying, trading, or pawning used property. Chapter 6.52…

Stanislaus County requires a permit from the Planning Director before any adult business can open in the unincorporated area, and bars new adult businesses from locating within 500…

Stanislaus County taxes commercial cannabis businesses in the unincorporated area by classification: distribution, manufacturing, and testing pay 1% to 4% of gross receipts; retail…

Every restaurant in unincorporated Stanislaus County, including mobile food units, must keep a certified manager on-site whenever food is served. Regulation No. 11 under Section…

Stanislaus County's agricultural commissioner runs the county's vertebrate pest control program, selling rodent bait only to producers who hold a current pesticide permit or operator…

Stanislaus County's local building-code amendment requires special inspections for structural elements of Group U agricultural buildings, tying the requirement to Section 1705 of the…

Stanislaus County adopts the 2025 California Electrical Code, National Fire Protection Agency 2023 edition, by reference as its electrical code, and requires a building-official permit…

Stanislaus County adopts the 2025 California Plumbing Code, 2024 edition, by reference as its plumbing code, including select administrative sections and appendices on private sewage…

Stanislaus County requires a permit from the building official before any construction, alteration, demolition, or change of occupancy, and before installing or altering electrical…

Stanislaus County adopts the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code by reference under Section 16.80.010, making CALGreen's mandatory measures part of the county's building…

Stanislaus County shields agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits once they've run more than three years without complaint, provided they follow accepted farming customs…

Stanislaus County's Agricultural Land Policies chapter requires every discretionary parcel or subdivision map touching agricultural land to carry a recorded right-to-farm disclosure…

Stanislaus County bans smoking and vaping, including marijuana, cigars, cigarettes and any tobacco or nicotine product, within twenty feet of any public park playground, and it's also…

Stanislaus County Code § 18.06.350 bans smoking or vaporizing anything, expressly including marijuana, cigars, cigarettes, and other tobacco or nicotine products, within twenty feet of…

Stanislaus County bans open containers and unpermitted alcohol consumption in its parks under Code § 18.06.020. Anyone with an opened can, bottle, or other alcoholic-beverage container…

Stanislaus County caps garage, yard, moving, and patio sales in the unincorporated area to three consecutive days per event, held no more than twice within any calendar year on the…

In unincorporated Stanislaus County, anyone who occupies or controls land with standing wheat, oats, barley, hay or other vegetation that has turned flammable must maintain a boundary…

Stanislaus County's Fire Code amendments flatly require a permit before anyone burns grass, weeds, agricultural trimmings or other combustibles in the unincorporated county. Added…

Any outdoor or open fire in unincorporated Stanislaus County, including a backyard fire pit, must have an adult in attendance at all times under Fire Code Section 16.55.150. Before…

Stanislaus County's Fire Code amendments zone where liquefied petroleum gas can be stored and dispensed outdoors in the unincorporated county. Section 6104.2, as locally amended, ties…

Stanislaus County bans selling, possessing, discharging or transporting any fireworks in the unincorporated area, with a narrow window for state-classified Safe and Sane fireworks from…

Stanislaus County bars short-term rentals of accessory dwelling units: under Code § 21.74.050(C), the recorded covenant every ADU owner must sign requires any rental of the ADU or…

In unincorporated Stanislaus County, a carport is defined as an open-sided covered parking space of at least nine by nineteen feet, with the roof edge counted as the vehicle opening…

Converting an existing, legally built garage into an accessory dwelling unit in unincorporated Stanislaus County skips two rules that apply to new ADU construction: the four-foot…

Stanislaus County allows one accessory dwelling unit plus one junior ADU on any single-family parcel in the unincorporated area, capping new ADUs at 1,200 square feet of living space…

Stanislaus County's building code, Section 16.70.010, adopts the 2025 California Residential Code together with Appendix BB, 'Tiny Houses,' making tiny-house construction standards…

Stanislaus County grants a 20 percent density bonus over the maximum allowed residential density to any housing development that sets aside at least 5 percent of its units for very low…

Stanislaus County bans planting any tree, shrub, or vine within 10 feet of the road right-of-way edge on county roads, widening to 15 feet for walnut trees and large ornamental shade…

Stanislaus County's amended housing code requires every landlord who rents, leases, or lets a dwelling or sleeping unit to supply heat maintaining at least 68°F in all habitable rooms…

In Stanislaus County's Rural Residential (R-A) district, Zoning Code Section 21.24.040(B) caps fences, hedges, and screen plantings at eight feet in any required side or rear yard and…

Stanislaus County treats retaining walls as regulated grading structures under its local amendments to the California Building Code's grading appendix. Anyone building a retaining wall…

Stanislaus County has no dedicated short-term-rental license, but any host renting to transients qualifies as a hotel "operator" under the Hotel Tax chapter and must register with the…

In Stanislaus County's unincorporated Light Industrial (LI) zoning district, Table 21.62.B sets minimum setbacks of 15 feet at the front, 10 feet on each side, and 15 feet at the rear…

Aggregate building coverage on parcels in unincorporated Stanislaus County's R-A (Rural Residential) district is capped at forty percent of lot area under County Code § 21.24.070…

In Stanislaus County's Rural Residential (R-A) zoning district, which covers most unincorporated land outside Modesto, Turlock and Ceres, buildings are capped at a maximum of…

Stanislaus County's zoning code requires a construction permit before any new private swimming pool goes into the ground at a single-family home, and ties that permit to state-mandated…

In unincorporated Stanislaus County, Section 303.2 of the county's amended International Property Maintenance Code sends every private pool, hot tub, and spa straight to state law: the…

Stanislaus County treats a dangerous or substandard building as a public nuisance under Code Chapter 2.92. Code enforcement can order abatement, refer the case for Uniform Housing Code…

Stanislaus County's Vacant Property Ordinance (Chapter 2.94) bars owners of unimproved lots from letting nuisance conditions accumulate, naming weeds over eighteen inches, abandoned…

Stanislaus County limits garage-sale advertising in the unincorporated area to two signs per sale, each capped at three square feet and unlit. Section 6.64.030 also confines every sign…

In Stanislaus County's Industrial Business Park (IBP) zoning district, direct or sky-reflected glare or heat from floodlights or high-temperature processes cannot be visible or felt at…

Stanislaus County has no dedicated data center ordinance. In unincorporated areas a data center is an industrial use, allowed by right in the Industrial (M) district under Zoning…

Stanislaus County's Noise Control Ordinance (County Code Chapter 10.46) caps exterior noise at 50 dBA daytime and 45 dBA at night when measured at a residential property. Data center…