Local Rules Near Downtown Ventura

The City of Ventura bans keeping any animal or fowl whose sound, cry or behavior creates noise above the city's noise level limits under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.650.150(B). Neighbors can call Ventura Police or code enforcement, and a chronic barking complaint can be treated as a public nuisance subject to citation or a court injunction.

In a residential zone in the City of Ventura, power saws, sanders, drills, grinders, lawnmowers, leaf blowers and similar garden tools cannot run between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.650.150(E). The same tools are allowed between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Power construction equipment, pile drivers and other construction devices cannot be run near or inside a residential zone in the City of Ventura between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.650.150(D). Work is allowed between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., and emergency work is exempt at any hour.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 10.650.150(A) bars operating a radio, musical instrument, phonograph, TV or similar sound device in any residential zone loud enough to exceed the noise level limits set elsewhere in Chapter 10.650's noise control article, effectively a decibel-based cap on amplified home sound.

Vehicle and motorcycle noise on Ventura streets is primarily a state-law matter: California Vehicle Code §27150 requires every motor vehicle to have an adequate muffler in constant operation, §27151 prohibits modified exhaust systems that amplify noise (95 dBA SAE test ceiling for vehicles under 6,000 lbs), and CVC §23130 sets passing-vehicle dBA standards. Local enforcement is by Ventura PD and CHP on adjoining state routes (US-101, SR-126, SR-33, SR-1). SBMC Ch. 10.650 applies to stationary vehicle noise (idling, sound systems, repair work) on private property.

Before a guest ever checks in, the owner or the hosting platform handling the booking must collect that guest's name, address and a driver's license number or passport copy under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.455.140(D). The same guest must sign a written acknowledgment accepting legal responsibility for the conduct of everyone in the unit.

Two violations of a Ventura short-term rental permit's conditions in any 12-month period can suspend the permit for up to six months, and a third strike in the same window can revoke it outright, under Section 6.455.190. A single loud-party police notice can suspend a permit for a full year on its own.

Every short-term vacation rental and homestay in the City of Ventura must post a notice inside the unit tying amplified sound to the city's noise ordinance and flatly prohibiting loud parties, under Section 6.455.140(H)(7)-(9). Guests who trigger a special enforcement response for a loud party expose the owner to the city's cost-recovery rules.

Ventura caps overnight occupancy at every permitted short-term vacation rental and homestay under Municipal Code § 6.455.140(F). A whole-unit vacation rental may sleep two people plus two more per bedroom, while a homestay, where the owner keeps living in the unit, is capped at two people per bedroom. Children under three do not count, and the cap must be posted inside the rental and stated in every ad.

A short-term vacation rental or homestay permit is required before anyone rents, offers to rent, or advertises a Ventura dwelling for stays under 30 days, per Municipal Code § 6.455.040. The permit administrator issues or renews a permit only after confirming an inspection, zoning compliance, chapter compliance and available density, and denies applications for false information or a recent revocation.

A Ventura homestay permit, unlike a whole-unit short-term vacation rental, is only available for a dwelling that is the owner's primary residence. Municipal Code § 6.455.020 defines a homestay as a unit where the owner keeps primary residency and stays overnight nightly through the guest's whole visit, and § 6.455.040(B)(8) makes that residency a permit-issuance finding.

Ventura does not cap nights per year; instead it caps the total number of short-term vacation rental permits allowed in each of five defined areas. Municipal Code § 6.455.080 sets ceilings from 35 permits in Midtown and the Harbor/Keys to 100 downtown and in Pierpont, while homestay permits stay unlimited everywhere.

Ventura charges short-term rental owners the chapter's own permit fees plus the city's transient occupancy tax, and ties both to the permit itself. Municipal Code § 6.455.150 lets the city council set fees for applications, renewals, amendments, inspections and enforcement, while §§ 6.455.040(B)(5) and 6.455.050(C) make paying transient occupancy tax a condition of getting or keeping the permit.

Ventura ties parking directly to bedroom count for every permitted short-term rental. Municipal Code § 6.455.060 requires one free on-site space for a zero-, one- or two-bedroom vacation rental and two spaces, which may be tandem, for three or more bedrooms; a homestay needs just one space set aside for its guests.

Ventura requires every short-term rental owner or agent to stay close enough to respond. Municipal Code § 6.455.140(A) requires the owner or their agent to live or work within 30 miles of the rental and be able to respond to tenant or public concerns at all times the unit is being rented.

Ventura requires proof of insurance before it will issue a short-term rental permit and requires that coverage to continue afterward. Municipal Code § 6.455.040(A)(4) makes proof of insurance part of every application, and § 6.455.120 requires the owner to maintain a policy the permit administrator finds adequate and appropriate for the use.

All fireworks, including safe and sane fireworks, are banned in the City of Ventura. San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.852.020 bars anyone from selling, offering to sell, using or possessing fireworks or dangerous fireworks in the city, and makes a property owner or tenant liable if they knowingly allow it on their property.

The City of Ventura designates Very High, High and Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Zones under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 12.165.020, adopting the CAL FIRE-mapped Fire Hazard Severity Zones in LRA map effective July 1, 2025, and requiring vegetation management, defensible space and construction standards within the High and Very High zones.

The City of Ventura requires anyone who owns, leases or controls land in a hazardous fire area to maintain a 100-foot firebreak around every building by clearing combustible material, under Appendix J, Section J105 of the wildland-urban interface amendments in Municipal Code Section 12.165.020; the fire code official can declare an uncleared parcel a public nuisance.

In High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones within the City of Ventura, Appendix Section J105.3 of the wildland-urban interface code amendments requires outbuildings and liquid propane gas storage tanks to keep 10 feet of clearance to bare mineral soil, plus an additional 10 feet free of flammable vegetation around their exterior.

Ventura's Fire Code amendments require an operational permit for open burning, including recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces on public ground, but exempt recreational fires and portable fireplaces kept on private property. Section 14.10.020(E), (L) also lets the fire code official ban all such fires citywide on red flag warning days or during high wind events.

In the City of Ventura, an operational fire permit is required before kindling any open fire, open burning, recreational fire, or portable outdoor fireplace on public streets, alleys, roads, or other public or private ground, per San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 14.10.020(E). Recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces on private property are exempt from the permit. Burning household rubbish is banned outright, and the fire code official can halt any fire when red flag or high-wind conditions raise wildfire risk.

All residential dwellings in the City of Ventura must have smoke detectors installed per California Health and Safety Code Section 13113.7. Detectors are required in each bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on every level of the home.

Every residential electric vehicle charging station in Ventura needs a building permit under Municipal Code Section 12.146.030. It is unlawful to install, operate or maintain one without a permit, which must be secured by a state-licensed electrical contractor through the city's expedited, nondiscretionary review process.

Leaving a wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle on private or public property (not counting highways) in the City of Ventura for more than five days is a public nuisance under Municipal Code Section 8.10.380, enforceable by the building official or police chief under the abatement procedure in Article 3 of Chapter 8.10.

In the City of Ventura, curbside loading zones are set and marked by the city traffic engineer under Municipal Code Section 16.220.010. Yellow zones limit commercial material loading to 20 minutes and passenger loading to three minutes; white zones cap passenger stops at three minutes, and no more than half of any block's curb length may be reserved for loading.

In the City of Ventura, no one may paint any street or curb surface without city authorization, per San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 16.120.050(B). The only carve-out lets a property owner paint address numbers on a curb after complying with the city's separate curb-numbering resolution or ordinance. Unauthorized painted curbs, red zones, or lane markings imitating official traffic control markings can also trigger separate tampering charges under subsection (A).

In the City of Ventura, drivers may not stop, stand, or park in traffic-hazard locations, divisional islands, red-curbed zones, or within 30 feet of a crosswalk or traffic signal, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 16.210.040(A). The same section separately bars using any city street or alley to store a vehicle for more than a consecutive 72 hours, and the police department may tow a vehicle left longer than that under § 16.210.040(C).

In the City of Ventura, commercial vehicles cannot park longer than five hours on any public street in a residential zone under San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 16.210.040(D), unless the vehicle is loading, unloading, or actively servicing a property on that block. The city defines a covered commercial vehicle as one with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more, and a residential district as any zone or subzone whose designation includes the letter R.

In the City of Ventura, residents on streets posted with time-limited parking near schools, colleges, medical districts, and downtown can apply for a preferential parking permit that exempts them from the posted limit. Municipal Code § 16.215.030(F) covers one- or two-hour zones within a quarter mile of a high school or college; subsections (G) and (I) cover medical districts and downtown residential streets, each administered by the public works director.

In the City of Ventura, an oversized vehicle, over 25 feet long, 80 inches wide, or 82 inches tall, can't park on a city street between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. without a permit, per Municipal Code § 16.217.050(A). A separate rule bans parking a trailer, including a camper or boat trailer, in a residential or business area between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays, and unhitched trailers can't be left on any street or alley at all, under § 16.217.060.

Every driveway, drive aisle, parking area, and access to a parking area required by Ventura's zoning code must be completely surfaced with asphalt, Portland cement concrete, or another director-approved material like permeable block pavers, under Municipal Code Section 24.415.090. Gravel or dirt does not satisfy this requirement for required off-street parking.

Ventura does NOT have a blanket overnight ban on standard passenger vehicles on city streets. Instead, the city enforces a 72-hour maximum-parking rule under SBMC §16.210.040(C): a vehicle parked in one location longer than 72 hours is subject to citation and tow. Oversized vehicles (RVs, trailers, large trucks) are governed by SBMC Ch. 16.217 with a 6 a.m.–6 p.m. daytime parking prohibition, which effectively means overnight RV/trailer parking is restricted as well via separate trailer rules.

In the City of Ventura, retaining walls need their own permit from Building and Safety in addition to any grading permit, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 12.215.010. Walls under six feet with no surcharge are exempt from the separate grading permit outside the Hillside Management Program area; inside it, the exemption drops to three feet.

In the City of Ventura, a fence, wall, or dense landscaping serving as one is capped at three and one-half feet in a required front yard, and six feet in a required rear or side yard, under Municipal Code Section 24.410.030(H). Section 24.410.020(C) separately bars any fence, wall, or landscaping within 20 feet of a street intersection that blocks traffic visibility.

The City of Ventura does not issue a standard building permit for most fences, but a fence or wall over 10 feet tall in a required rear or side yard cannot be built or kept without a minor variance approved under Municipal Code Section 24.410.030(I). The 10-foot trigger overrides both the general fence-height rule and the fence-height measurement method.

The City of Ventura prohibits beekeeping outright. Municipal Code Section 8.50.050 makes it unlawful for anyone to have, keep, maintain or possess any bees on any premises in the city, with a single narrow exception for bees kept inside a school or laboratory for educational or scientific purposes.

In the City of Ventura, Municipal Code Section 8.50.030(A) requires any animal brought onto a public beach along the Pacific Ocean to be on a leash held continuously by a person able to control it. The city also adopts Ventura County's animal control ordinance by reference under Section 8.50.010, and off-leash exercise is allowed only in two designated city parks under posted rules.

In the City of Ventura it is unlawful to feed squirrels, pigeons, rats or feral cats along the waterfront, defined as within 500 feet of the Pacific Ocean's mean high tide. Adopted in 2002, the ban targets nuisance animals near the pier, harbor and beaches, with penalties that escalate from an infraction to a misdemeanor.

In the City of Ventura, keeping chickens or other fowl as livestock in the R-1 single-family zone requires a lot of at least one acre under the zoning code's Animal Husbandry standards, capped at two adult animals per acre and four total per site, unless the birds are part of a 4-H or group-sponsored project under a director's permit.

In the City of Ventura, a dog grooming salon or pet store is defined by Section 24.115.330(A) of the Municipal Code as an Animal Sales and Services: Grooming and Pet Stores use, and it is a use permitted outright, with no discretionary permit, in the C-1 limited commercial zone under Section 24.232.020.

In the City of Ventura, a veterinary clinic or animal hospital for small animals is defined by Section 24.115.330(B) of the Municipal Code as an Animal Sales and Services: Veterinary use, and Section 24.232.020 lists it as a use permitted outright, without a discretionary permit, in the C-1 limited commercial zone.

In the City of Ventura's R-1 single-family zone, only a short list of wild animals, such as chipmunks, turtles, raccoons, certain monkeys, nonpoisonous snakes and raptors, may be kept as pets, and only noncommercially with state Fish and Wildlife permits; the R-1-B beach zone and R-2 duplex zone ban wild animals outright.

Ventura requires bird-safe building design within the Harbor Mixed-Use Development (HMXD) zone at Ventura Harbor. Municipal Code Section 24.248.140(M) caps untreated glass at 35 percent of any facade on new buildings and major renovations, requires bird-deterring glazing, restricts nighttime lighting, and bans reflective "bird trap" features that kill birds by collision.

The City of Ventura caps weed and grass height under Municipal Code Section 8.10.130(C): if 50 percent of the weeds or grasses within a property's weed or grass growth area exceed 12 inches, the property is a declared public nuisance. Community Development's code enforcement division can order the owner to mow or clear the growth through the same nuisance abatement hearing process used citywide.

Home composting is expressly allowed in the City of Ventura. Municipal Code § 6.500.190(C) exempts homeowners from the citywide ban on dumping or spreading waste on the ground for drying, letting residents compost leaves and grass clippings on their own property without a city permit.

When the Ventura City Council declares a Stage 3 water-shortage event, Municipal Code Section 22.171.070 caps outdoor potable irrigation at two days a week and bars sprinklers from running between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Higher stages tighten further, down to a total outdoor-irrigation ban at Stage 6, enforced by Ventura Water.

The City of Ventura's parks manager can remove a public street tree under Municipal Code Section 20.150.140 only for specific reasons: the tree is dead or diseased, it damages sidewalks or sewer lines, it's an unauthorized species, or it otherwise threatens public health or safety. Private removal of a street tree separately needs a permit under Section 20.150.210.

The City of Ventura requires a permit from the parks manager before anyone plants, prunes, trims, defaces, or removes a tree or shrub on a city street, under Municipal Code Section 20.150.210. A permittee who removes a tree under the permit must plant a replacement of the size and kind specified within 40 days.

In the City of Ventura, Chapter 24.125 of the Municipal Code lets you run a home occupation in any zone that contains a residential dwelling unit, as long as the business stays incidental to the home's residential use and meets every standard in Section 24.125.030, covering traffic, signs, storage, vehicles, hazards and staffing.

In the City of Ventura, a licensed small family day care home serving six or fewer children is a permitted Residential Care use in the R-1 single-family zone and every other residential zone, no zoning permit needed. A large family day care home caring for 13 or more children is classified as Group Care and needs a use permit from Community Development before it can open.

In the City of Ventura, a home occupation cannot generate pedestrian or vehicle traffic beyond what the residential neighborhood already sees, under Section 24.125.030(A) of the Municipal Code. Deliveries are capped at once a day, only one home-occupation vehicle up to one ton may be kept on site, and only one outside employee is allowed.

In the City of Ventura, a home business cannot display any sign visible from outside the dwelling unit. Section 24.125.030(B) of the Municipal Code allows only the signs a residence is otherwise permitted to have, so a business name, logo or advertising sign on the house, yard or window is off-limits.

Ventura's Building Code amendments require every residential swimming pool to be completely enclosed by a barrier. Municipal Code Section 12.115.020(A)(34) sets the barrier at least 60 inches above grade, caps the ground clearance at 2 inches, and limits vertical member spacing to 1 3/4 inches.

Ventura's Chapter 31AA swimming pool standards, added at Municipal Code Section 12.115.020(A)(35), require a Registered Civil Engineer or Architect to sign structural plans for any pool deeper than three feet, and impose a soils-investigation permit condition for pools built in uncertified fill areas.

Ventura exempts small detached sheds from a building permit under Municipal Code Section 12.115.020(A)(3), amending CBC Section 105.2. A shed qualifies only if it is one story, no larger than 120 square feet, no taller than 8'6" from grade, sits in the rear yard on a residential (R-3 occupancy) lot, and carries no electrical, plumbing or mechanical equipment.

Ventura allows one ADU on any residential or mixed-use lot and one JADU on single-family-zoned lots under Municipal Code Chapter 24.430. Adopted by Ordinance No. 2024-013, the chapter sets height, setback, parking and permitting standards that implement, and in places exceed, the minimums of state ADU law.

Converting an existing garage into livable space in Ventura is allowed only as part of an accessory dwelling unit under Municipal Code Section 24.430.040(A). A garage conversion on a single-family lot qualifies for ministerial building-permit approval, and multifamily buildings may convert garages, storage rooms and similar spaces into ADUs up to 25 percent of existing units.

Ventura bars short-term rental of accessory dwelling units. Municipal Code Section 24.430.050(D) sets a 30-day minimum rental term for every ADU and JADU in the city, applying retroactively to units built before the rule and permanently closing off nightly or weekly vacation-rental use of any accessory unit.

Ventura does not require the owner to live on-site for a standard accessory dwelling unit built since 2020, but junior ADUs still carry a strict owner-occupancy rule. Section 24.430.050(G) requires the titleholder to reside in either the primary home or the JADU as their legal domicile, with narrow exceptions for government, land-trust or housing-organization owners.

Ventura waives development impact fees for small accessory dwelling units. Municipal Code Section 24.430.070(A) exempts any ADU under 750 square feet from Mitigation Fee Act and Quimby Act impact fees entirely, and prorates any impact fee owed on a larger ADU based on its floor area relative to the primary home.

Chapter 8.600 of the San Buenaventura Municipal Code bars discharging anything but stormwater into the city's storm drain system, backed by the city's Clean Water Act permit obligations. The director of public works enforces the rules with inspections, administrative citations, and nuisance abatement, and construction sites need an approved pollution control plan before grading begins.

In fire hazard areas of the City of Ventura, Appendix J105.1 of the wildland-urban interface code requires a 30-foot defensible-space zone around every structure: dead vegetation removed, grasses cut to 4 inches, tree limbs pruned 6 to 15 feet up, and wood piles over 55 cubic feet relocated outside the zone.

Ventura's Floating Piers chapter, Municipal Code Section 12.140.060, sets material and structural standards for private slips, piers, docks, wharves and appurtenances, including 36-inch railings rated for a 30-pound load. Section 12.140.090 limits the whole chapter to residential marinas, excluding the H-C harbor commercial zone.

Ventura requires a flood area development permit before any construction or development starts in a mapped special flood hazard area, or in a locally known area with a history of flooding. Municipal Code Section 12.440.010 makes this permit mandatory in addition to any other city permit, and the floodplain administrator reviews it against Chapter 12.430 standards.

Ventura caps rainy-season grading and requires erosion control devices under Municipal Code Section 12.215.030(L). Between November 1 and April 15, no grading job over 250 cubic yards can start on a permitted site if the City Engineer finds it a safety risk. Contractors must install anti-erosion devices, desilting basins and drainage controls before November 1 each year, enforced by the City Engineer's office.

In most flood zones, Ventura requires new and substantially improved residential structures to elevate the lowest floor at least two feet above the base flood elevation. Municipal Code Section 12.430.020(C)(1)(c) sets that freeboard, with different rules for mapped depth numbers in A, AE, AH and AO zones, and a licensed engineer or surveyor must certify the final elevation.

The City of Ventura allows licensed cannabis businesses only in zoning districts that already permit the underlying use by right, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Sections 6.420.370 and 24.105.200(B). A retailer must sit in a zone that permits retail sales without a use permit, a testing lab in a research/laboratory zone, a distributor in a wholesaling zone, and a manufacturer in a light- or general-industrial zone, on top of the siting rules in 6.420.370.

In the City of Ventura, a cannabis business cannot locate inside a 'sensitive use buffer zone' that the city council sets by resolution, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.420.370(A). The municipal code itself does not print the buffer distance; it delegates that number to a separate council resolution, so operators must check the current resolution, not the zoning ordinance, before choosing a site.

In the City of Ventura, every small residential rooftop solar energy system needs a building permit before installation. Chapter 12.145 of the San Buenaventura Municipal Code defines a covered system as 10 kW AC or smaller (or 30 kW thermal) on a single- or duplex-family home, requires health-and-safety compliance, and lets the City Council set fees by resolution.

The City of Ventura must issue a building permit for a small residential rooftop solar energy system within three business days once the Building and Safety Division confirms it meets the adopted checklist and standard plans. Only one inspection is required, and it must be scheduled within two business days of a request under Chapter 12.145.

Ventura allows temporary political signs without design review, but they cannot go up more than six months before a national election or three months before any other election, and must come down within 10 days after the election, under Municipal Code Section 24.420.050(J). Placement on private property needs the owner's permission.

In the City of Ventura, a temporary window sign cannot cover more than 40 percent of the window it is placed on, whether alone or combined with other window signs, under Municipal Code Section 24.420.050(K). Temporary window signs are limited to ground-floor windows, need a director's permit, and can be displayed at most 90 days per calendar year.

A freeway service facility in Ventura can get a pole sign only after a use permit is approved under Chapter 24.520, and Municipal Code Section 24.420.190 caps that sign at 85 square feet and 25 feet in height. Only one pole sign per lot or facility is allowed, and the decision-making authority must make five specific findings before granting the permit.

The City of Ventura bans digital and electronic changeable-copy billboards under its zoning code. Section 24.420.270 lists "changeable copy signs," "flashing or blinking signs," and "moving signs" among prohibited sign types citywide, and Section 24.110.360 defines a changeable copy sign as one whose letters or advertising material can be readily interchanged, exempting only theater marquees, church/school information boards, and service station price signs.

In the City of Ventura, an owner or anyone in charge of real property, including a vacant lot, commits a public nuisance under Municipal Code Section 8.10.130 by letting vegetation overgrow or debris accumulate into a fire or health hazard, or a condition likely to harbor rats or other vermin. Community Development's code enforcement division orders abatement through a hearing officer, and the city records a lien for unpaid cleanup costs against the parcel.

A City of Ventura property owner who lets a building fall into fire-hazard disrepair, weeds grow past 12 inches, junk pile up in view of the street, or an unfenced pool sit exposed is maintaining a public nuisance under Municipal Code Section 8.10.130, enforceable through the abatement and lien process in Article 4 of Chapter 8.10.

The City of Ventura requires outdoor lighting fixtures to be designed and selected to avoid excessive spillage of illumination onto public rights-of-way and adjacent properties, using a subdued light source for residential character or a hooded or shielded fixture for nonresidential properties, under Municipal Code Section 24.423.010. The director can demand a photometric analysis to confirm compliance.

New development and lighting improvements citywide must avoid spilling light onto neighboring property under Municipal Code Section 24.423.010, and within Ventura's Residential and Mixed-Use (LM/MU) overlay zones, Section 24.305.040(F)(2) goes further, requiring every outdoor luminaire to be shielded and meet Illuminating Engineering Society "full cut off" standards.

Chapter 8.1100 of the San Buenaventura Municipal Code layers city-specific requirements onto California's statewide just-cause eviction law for landlords citing intent to demolish or substantially remodel a rental unit. Owners must secure all permits before serving notice and pay tenants two months' rent in relocation assistance within 15 days.

In the City of Ventura, general apartment and single-family rents run on California's statewide rent cap, but mobile home park space rent is different: San Buenaventura Municipal Code Chapter 6.600 sets a local formula and requires approval from the city's Mobile Home Rent Review Board or its rent administrator before a park owner can raise a resident's space rent.

Before a mobile home park in the City of Ventura raises a resident's space rent under the annual CPI-based option in Municipal Code Section 6.600.070(F), the city's rent administrator must calculate the allowed increase and mail notice to the park owner and the park's residents' representative first.

Ventura amends the adopted Property Maintenance Code to require landlords to supply heat. Municipal Code Section 12.310.020(DD)-(EE) makes owners keep every habitable room, bathroom and toilet room at a minimum 68°F, and bars space heaters or cooking appliances as the sole heat source. Code Enforcement handles complaints under the San Buenaventura Property Maintenance Code.

Ventura Municipal Code Section 8.250.020 makes it unlawful to dump solid waste, waste matter, rocks or dirt on any public or private road, right-of-way, park or private property without the owner's consent. Community Development's Code Enforcement Division, the Ventura Police Department, Fire Department and Public Works enforce the ban, and violators face misdemeanor prosecution plus city cleanup billing.

In the City of Ventura, no one may collect or process recyclable materials commercially unless they hold a city franchise agreement or a one-year permit issued by the director of public works under Municipal Code § 6.500.310. Nonprofits, franchise holders and businesses delivering their own recyclables are exempt under § 6.500.320.

Every single-family generator in the City of Ventura must subscribe to city trash service and sort waste into the blue recycling, green organics and black trash carts under Municipal Code § 6.500.530, the city's implementation of the state's SB 1383 organics mandate. Contaminating a cart or skipping the sort brings escalating fines: $75, then $150, then $250 per violation.

Residential and commercial waste in the City of Ventura must be removed from a property at least once a week under Municipal Code § 6.500.130(B), and the county health department can require more frequent pickup. Trucks may only run between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, under § 6.500.420, meaning no Sunday collection.

Ventura's code defines green waste as tree trimmings, grass, leaves, and branches, and requires oversized yard debris too big for a cart to be bundled: tied bundles no more than 18 inches across, five feet long and 75 pounds, left beside the container. Hire a landscaper to haul it away instead, and no city permit is needed.

In Ventura, carts can go to the curb no earlier than 4:00 p.m. the day before your scheduled pickup and must come back in by 8:00 p.m. the day they're emptied, under Municipal Code § 6.500.150(C). No one but the generator, the franchisee, or a city permittee may touch someone else's container or its contents.

Ventura residents must place carts in the parkway strip if one exists, otherwise at the curb, sidewalk, or in a paved alley, under Municipal Code § 6.500.150(A). Between pickups, § 6.500.160 bars leaving a container on public property or storing it anywhere in a residential area where it is visible from a public street.

Commercial dumpsters supplied by Ventura's waste franchisee must be leak-proof, lidded where applicable, built entirely of noncombustible material, and sited inside a designed enclosure under Municipal Code § 6.500.140(C). Businesses also can't overfill a container so its contents blow or spill out, per § 6.500.140(D).

California's Mandatory Commercial Recycling Act (AB 341, PRC §42649) and the Mandatory Organic Waste Recycling Act (SB 1383, PRC §42652.5) require every resident and business to separate recyclables into the blue cart. SBMC Ch. 6.500 Article 5 (Organic Waste Recycling) and §6.500.540 (Requirements for commercial businesses) implement these state mandates locally. Commercial businesses generating ≥4 cubic yards/week of solid waste must subscribe to recycling service.

Selling food or merchandise from a pushcart or stand on a City of Ventura sidewalk requires both a business tax certificate and a special business permit under Municipal Code Chapter 6.1050, adopted in 2024, with permits running through June 30 each year.

Even with a permit, a City of Ventura sidewalk vendor cannot set up just anywhere: Municipal Code Section 6.1050.070 bans carts within set distances of fire hydrants, driveways, transit stops, curb ramps, schools, and any competing farmers' market, swap meet, or permitted special event.

Anyone who peddles, hawks or solicits orders door-to-door in the City of Ventura without a fixed local business must first register with the police chief and pay the required license tax, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.200.070. Registration means appearing in person for photographing and fingerprinting, paying a $2.00 fee, and carrying the certificate while soliciting.

The City of Ventura bars charitable and nonprofit solicitors from contacting the public between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.400.060(A). The hours cap sits inside the city's charitable-solicitation permit chapter and applies on top of the separate permit and public-record requirements for anyone raising money door-to-door or by phone for a charitable cause.

San Buenaventura's nighttime curfew, Municipal Code §§ 10.300.220-.240, bars anyone under 18 from being in any public place or private business open to the public between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., and separately makes a responsible adult liable for knowingly allowing a minor to violate it.

City parks in Ventura close to the public at a time set by the director of parks and recreation and stay closed until sunrise the next day, under Municipal Code Section 20.50.040. Anyone who enters or stays in a closed park without authorization from the city council, the director, or their representative is violating the chapter.

In the City of Ventura's R-1 single-family zone, standard lots need a front setback of 20 percent of lot depth (capped at 25 feet), side setbacks of 10 percent of lot width (between 3 and 5 feet), and a rear setback of 25 percent of lot depth (capped at 25 feet), with different fixed numbers for Pierpont-Keys waterfront lots.

In the City of Ventura's R-1 single-family zone, total building area on a standard lot cannot exceed 35 percent of the lot, while the Pierpont-Keys waterfront tract has its own sliding scale up to 50 percent depending on the number of stories in the primary dwelling.

In the City of Ventura's R-1 single-family zone, no building or other structure may exceed 30 feet in height, regardless of the number of stories, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 24.210.070. The zone also caps buildings at two and one-half stories, and a half-story must sit at the top of the structure unless a hillside exception applies.

Removing or trimming a tree in a site identified as habitat for protected wildlife, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife-designated critical habitat and mapped monarch butterfly overwintering sites, is unlawful in the City of Ventura under Municipal Code Section 20.155.030, unless a permit exception applies.

In the City of Ventura, the parks manager controls what kind of trees can be planted along city streets and parkways and how far apart they go, under Municipal Code Section 20.150.120. No street tree may be planted closer than 50 feet to the near line of an intersecting street, and improperly planted trees can be removed at the planter's expense.

In the City of Ventura, a resident may hold only one garage sale per calendar year, and it cannot run longer than two consecutive days, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.200.090. A sale that stays within those limits needs no business license, but selling more often, or extending the sale, converts it into an unlicensed business.

The City of Ventura requires a permit before anyone films on public or private property under Municipal Code Section 8.120.140. The community services administrator issues permits under Chapter 8.120, and a permit is not effective until the administrator receives the applicant's written acceptance of its terms and any conditions.

The City of Ventura lets the film permit administrator waive any Chapter 8.120 fee for student filming under Municipal Code Section 8.120.180. The applicant must be an individual currently enrolled at a recognized educational institution, and a school administrator or instructor must sign a letter confirming the film is non-commercial and agreeing to pay fees if it is ever used commercially.

In the City of Ventura, Municipal Code Section 8.120.350 lets the administrator deny a film permit when filming would occur along a route or location next to a hospital or extended care facility, or next to a school while it is in session, and the noise created would substantially disrupt patient care or classroom instruction.

In the City of Ventura, commercial buildings in Uniform Building Code Occupancy Groups E, F and G must secure every front door under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 12.150.220: a single door needs a double-cylinder deadbolt or a keyed deadbolt with an emergency exit device, bolts throwing at least one inch, enforced by the police department and building official.

The City of Ventura adopts the 2025 California Building Code by reference under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 12.115.010, then amends its permit rules locally: Section 12.115.020 requires Planning Division approval and payment of fees before Building and Safety issues a permit, while exempting specific minor work such as fences under 6 feet.

Ventura adopts the 2025 California Plumbing Code by reference at Municipal Code Section 12.120.010, including Appendices A, B, D, H, I and J, and layers on local amendments driven by the city's corrosive, limited water supply, including a mandatory water softener loop on new single- and multi-family construction.

Ventura adopts the 2025 California Electrical Code, including Annex C, at Municipal Code Section 12.125.010, citing the city's moist coastal air and corrosive native soil, then layers on local amendments covering solar reconstruction permits, lockout/tagout safety, multi-meter disconnects and pool equipment GFCI testing.

Ventura adopts the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of Title 24, in full at Municipal Code Section 12.135.020, with no local amendments layered on top, unlike the city's Building, Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical Code chapters.

Municipal Code Section 12.310.020(F) sets how a Ventura code official may inspect a property under the San Buenaventura Property Maintenance Code. Occupied structures require the official to present credentials and request entry; unoccupied ones require a reasonable effort to locate the owner first. If entry is refused, the official pursues legal remedies, and home interior hours track state law.

Ventura's Fire Code Appendix R requires automatic fire sprinklers in every new building over 500 square feet, and in all new townhouses and one- and two-family dwellings regardless of size. Section 14.10.020(SS), Appendix R103.2, exempts only specific small detached carports, garages, car washes, gas station canopies and certain parklets.

In the City of Ventura, anyone planning an activity in a city park that draws more than 100 people, charges admission, sells goods or food, or reserves park space exclusively must get an event permit from the parks, recreation, and community partnerships director under Municipal Code Chapter 20.20 before the event happens.

In the City of Ventura, restaurants and businesses that want to build a long-term outdoor dining parklet in the public right-of-way must first get an encroachment permit from the administrator designated by the city manager under Municipal Code Chapter 18.400. The permit requires at least $1,000,000 in combined single-limit liability insurance and compliance with the city's design criteria before construction can start.

In the City of Ventura, a block party on a public street needs an event permit; Municipal Code Section 18.250.230 requires the application to count occupied houses in the closure area, include a barricade and boundary drawing, and attach a written petition signed by two-thirds of the affected property owners or residents.

In the City of Ventura, a restaurant cannot put tables in the public right-of-way without a director's permit under Municipal Code Section 24.477.040. The rule requires four feet of pedestrian clearance and 50 feet of intersection sight clearance, and the permit runs one year for a $50.00 fee.

In the City of Ventura, a parade in the public right-of-way needs an event permit whose application, under Municipal Code Section 18.250.220, must state the parade's assembly time and point, its route, the interval space between units, and the number, type and size of floats.

Placing anything, a sign, planter, dining fence, or storage item, on a City of Ventura sidewalk without authorization is an unpermitted encroachment under Municipal Code Chapter 18.100, which makes it unlawful to obstruct a public right-of-way unless the city's designated administrator has first issued an encroachment permit.

In the City of Ventura, the owner, tenant or agent of property abutting a sidewalk must repair it once the city engineer serves written notice under Municipal Code Section 18.10.060. Ignoring that notice for 30 days lets the city do the work and place a lien on the property, and failing to pay is a misdemeanor.

In the City of Ventura, Municipal Code Section 18.100.060 makes it unlawful to encroach on a public right-of-way or city utility easement, or to excavate in one, without a permit issued under Chapter 18.100. “Encroachment” covers construction, obstructions, and any structure placed in the right-of-way.

Running machinery, a pump, fan or air-conditioning unit loud enough to exceed the applicable noise level limit is unlawful anywhere in the City of Ventura under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.650.150(C), which covers any nature of mechanical device, not just construction or garden equipment.

In the City of Ventura, a delivery truck or other vehicle over 6,000 pounds GVWR cannot idle for more than five minutes an hour within 200 feet of a residential area between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.650.150(F)(3).

San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 8.350.040(D) bars every tobacco retailer in the city from selling, delivering, or stocking with intent to sell any flavored tobacco product, from menthol cigarettes to flavored vape liquid. Possessing four or more flavored products triggers a rebuttable presumption of intent to sell, and only on-site hookah use keeps a narrow exemption.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 8.750.120 shields commercial agricultural operations that comply with the city's zoning and comprehensive plan from being declared a nuisance just because nearby development changed after the farm was already there. The protection kicks in after one year of lawful operation and does not cover activity blocking public roads or waterways.

Ventura's right-to-farm ordinance, Municipal Code Section 8.750.120, shields lawful commercial agriculture from nuisance lawsuits once it has run more than a year without complaint, while the A Agricultural zone under Chapter 24.270 sets aside land for crop production, animal husbandry, and apiculture and shields it from encroaching development.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code Chapter 10.150 bans camping and storing personal property in parks, beaches, streets, and parking lots citywide, and sets a formal removal protocol: unlawfully stored property in floodplains or park encampments must be tagged with at least seven days' notice before the city can remove it.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 10.200.030 bars sitting or lying on public sidewalks, curbs, bike-walk paths, and building entrances in downtown Ventura, the Ventura Avenue corridor, and designated commercial, park, and harbor zones. A first warning from a Ventura Police officer is required before anyone can be cited.

The City of Ventura bans dockless shared mobility devices outright. Chapter 8.20 makes it unlawful to display, offer, rent, park, leave standing or operate any shared e-scooter, e-bike or similar rental device in the public right-of-way, on public property, or anywhere in the city, and authorizes immediate impoundment of any device found in violation.

In the City of Ventura, Municipal Code Section 16.340.030 bars motor vehicles from marked bicycle lanes, caps bicyclist speed at what is reasonable and prudent for conditions, and makes it unlawful to park a bicycle on a street or sidewalk in a way that blocks pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

The City of Ventura caps noise at the receiving property line by zone under Municipal Code Sec. 10.650.130: 70 dBA anytime on industrial land, but 50 dBA daytime and 45 dBA at night at homes. Data-center cooling and generators must meet the receiver's limit.

The City of Ventura has no data-center ordinance and no data-center use type. Data centers locate in the M-1 limited industrial and M-2 general industrial zones, classified as Light or General Industrial - permitted by right, or by use permit if treated as a utility substation.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 22.170.010 bans wasting water through an uncorrected leak, break or plumbing malfunction, and presumes a customer has 48 hours to fix it, counted from discovery or from the city's notice, whichever comes first. Ventura Water enforces the standing rule with an escalating civil-penalty schedule.

Ventura's density bonus ordinance, Chapter 24.445, lets qualifying housing developments build more units than the base zoning allows in exchange for affordable housing. Section 24.445.030 sets eligibility, and Section 24.445.070 locks in a 55-year affordability period for bonus rental units and 45 years for bonus for-sale units.

Municipal Code Section 12.310.020(Y) requires every structure in Ventura to stay free of insect, rodent and vermin infestation. Owners must exterminate an infestation promptly with methods that will not injure human health, and the code official can require a written report from a licensed exterminator confirming the job is done.

The City of Ventura collects a 10 percent transient occupancy tax on rent paid by any transient staying in a hotel, motel, trailer court, RV park, mobile home park, camp or timeshare unit for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Operators, including short-term rental hosts, must collect and remit the tax to the tax collector.

Ventura's City Council alone can designate a building, site or object as a historic landmark or point of interest under Municipal Code Chapter 24.455. Once designated, demolishing or relocating the landmark without council approval is a misdemeanor carrying a minimum $10,000 penalty and a five-year ban on new development permits for the site.

Operating a massage establishment in the City of Ventura requires a certificate of registration under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 8.300.060, separate from the business tax certificate every massage business must also hold. Certificates expire each June 30th, and the license authority can suspend or revoke one for background disqualifications, fraud, or chapter violations.

Any pawnbroker doing business in the City of Ventura must hold a written permit from the police chief, separate from the standard city business license, under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.200.030. The police chief investigates each applicant, can deny or revoke the permit for cause, and the ordinance bars resale of pawned merchandise for 30 days after it is taken in.

Secondhand dealers doing business in the City of Ventura need the same police-issued permit as pawnbrokers and junk dealers under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.200.030(B), and every item they buy or take in trade must sit unsold for 30 days unless resold to another permitted dealer. The police chief can deny, suspend or revoke the permit for fraud or repeat violations.

Every tobacco and vape retailer in the City of Ventura, including sellers of e-cigarettes and vaping devices, must hold a city tobacco retailer license for each fixed location under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 6.410.030. The ordinance bans itinerant and vehicle-based tobacco sales, forbids licensing any bar or restaurant that serves alcohol for on-site consumption, and keeps new tobacco retailers 1,000 feet from any school.

Any adult business in the City of Ventura, from adult arcades to adult cabarets, must hold an adult business regulatory license before opening. Municipal Code Chapter 6.900 sets licensing, background-check, and operating standards that the Community Development Director enforces on top of the zoning rules in Section 24.492.

In the City of Ventura, you may repair a vehicle at a residential property only if you own the vehicle, keep proof of registration on site, work only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., finish within 30 days, and never store the vehicle or its parts on the street or an unpaved yard. Body work and painting are banned outright.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 8.350.030 bans smoking in outdoor public places across the city, including every public park, the Ventura Pier and Promenade, public beaches, gardens, open space, and restaurant patios. The city manager enforces the ban as an infraction under Chapter 1.150, and any owner may also declare their own establishment nonsmoking entirely.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.10.010 makes it a misdemeanor to drink alcohol on any city facility or public property and an infraction to simply carry an open container there. Ventura Police enforce the ban, with narrow carve-outs for permitted sidewalk cafes, ABC-licensed park venues, and city-approved special events.

Under the City of San Buenaventura's disorderly conduct chapter, it is unlawful to loaf or loiter inside any restaurant, bar, or other food-and-drink establishment to beg, solicit, or importune patrons for money to buy food or drink. The rule reaches anyone who enters or remains for that purpose, including employees, vagrants, or idle persons, and Ventura Police enforce it citywide.

City of San Buenaventura Municipal Code § 10.200.050 makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate in any public place, defined to include streets, sidewalks, parks, alleys and building entrances, unless using an enclosed bathroom, restroom, or similar structure hidden from public view.

The City of San Buenaventura bans soliciting, asking, or begging "in an aggressive manner" anywhere in public, and separately lists specific no-solicitation zones such as bus stops, ATMs, drive-throughs, and dining areas. City code defines aggressive conduct to include blocking a person's path, touching without consent, and threatening gestures or language.

San Buenaventura Municipal Code §§ 10.650.210-260 lets Ventura Police bill a party host for 'special police services' after officers must return to the same address a second time within 12 hours, or three times within six months, to break up a disruptive gathering.

In the City of Ventura, Municipal Code Section 16.350.040 makes it unlawful to ride a skateboard, roller skates, scooter, bicycle or similar wheeled device on any sidewalk or public parking area within the downtown business district, the area bounded by Ventura Avenue, Ash Street, Poli Street and Harbor Boulevard.

In the City of Ventura's central traffic district and in any business district, pedestrians may cross a roadway only at a crosswalk; Municipal Code § 16.150.020 makes mid-block crossing elsewhere in those areas unlawful. The city traffic engineer designates and marks those crosswalks under § 16.150.010, and can post signs at a crosswalk telling pedestrians not to cross there, or refuse to create a mid-block crosswalk on any block shorter than 400 feet.

Every business in Ventura is sorted into one of 18 defined classifications, from retailing to services to solicitors, and each classification falls into one of three tax rate groups that set the license tax formula. The collector's classification is final unless challenged by written protest.

Operating or maintaining a card room in the City of Ventura is a misdemeanor under San Buenaventura Municipal Code Section 10.750.130, except for the narrow categories the rest of Chapter 10.750 allows, mainly a card room that legally operated in unincorporated Ventura County before an island annexation brought it into the city.