San Leandro, CA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- SLMC Chapter 3-15
- Creek center-line buffer
- 30 feet, no development
- Creek bank-top buffer
- 20 feet
- Watercourse work approval
- Written City Manager authorization
- Governing NPDES permit
- No. CA0029831
- Max misdemeanor penalty
- $1,000 fine / 6 months jail
Summary
San Leandro's Storm Water Management and Discharge Control Ordinance (SLMC Ch. 3-15) bans dumping anything but rain into the storm drain system, requires a City permit before building work touches a creek, and sets a 30-foot no-development buffer from a creek's center line.
Carry out development within thirty feet (30′) of the center line of any creek or twenty feet (20′) of the top of a bank; Deposit in, plant in, or remove any material from a watercourse including its banks, except as required for necessary maintenance... No person shall commit or cause to be committed any of the following acts, unless a written authorization has first been obtained from the City Manager or designee.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4967405; v8 updated 2026-07-06).
Full Breakdown
Section 3-15-200 flatly prohibits non-storm water discharges to the City storm sewer system, with narrow exceptions in subsection (a) for things like landscape irrigation runoff, dechlorinated pool water, and firefighting flows. Section 3-15-210 separately bans illicit drainage connections and makes that ban retroactive, reaching connections made in the past regardless of whether they were legal when installed. Section 3-15-215 layers on minimum housekeeping duties: no littering into streets, storm drains, or waterways, sidewalk-fronting property owners must keep their sidewalks free of dirt, and parking lot and gas station operators must clean their pavement so it does not wash pollutants into the storm system.
Watercourse protection is its own set of rules under § 3-15-220: property owners along a creek must keep their stretch free of trash, debris, and obstacles, and anyone wanting to discharge into a watercourse, alter its flow, build within 30 feet of a creek's center line or 20 feet of the top of its bank, remove material from the channel, or place loose material near it needs written authorization from the City Manager first. The City Engineer administers Chapter 3-15 for the City Manager, and where Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District has taken over maintenance of a watercourse, enforcement there can be assigned to the District by agreement, per § 3-15-115.
Violations & Fines
The Chapter is tied to NPDES Permit No. CA0029831 under § 3-15-120, so a discharge that would violate that permit is independently prohibited by § 3-15-205, and the responsible discharger must defend and indemnify the City against any resulting state or federal enforcement action. Chapter 3-15 sets no standalone fine schedule, so a violation falls back on the Code's general enforcement scheme: under § 1-12-200 that means a misdemeanor of up to $1,000 and six months in jail, or, at the City's discretion, an infraction starting at up to $100 for a first offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Leandro
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle stormwater management.