Colusa County, CA HOA Rules: CC&R Enforcement (2026)

030 (Interpretation and Addressing Conflicting Requirements) tells county staff and the public exactly how the Zoning Code interacts with other rules that might apply to the same parcel. Subsection D, Private Agreements, states that the Zoning Code applies to all land uses and development in unincorporated Colusa County regardless of whether it requires a greater or lesser restriction on the development or use of structures or land than a private agreement or restriction, naming CC&Rs as its own example, without affecting the applicability of any agreement or restriction.

In practice, a subdivision's CC&Rs and the County's Zoning Code run on separate, parallel tracks: the Community Development Department reviews building permits, setbacks, height, and use only against the Zoning Code and the County Code, never against a subdivision's private covenants, and a homeowners association cannot rely on the County to cite or fine a member for a CC&R violation that is not also a zoning violation. The same section, in subsection B, sets the reverse rule for county-adopted rules: if a conflict arises between the Zoning Code and other provisions of the County Code, the most restrictive standard applies.

So a resident whose CC&Rs are silent or more permissive on a setback or accessory structure still must meet the County's zoning standard, and a resident bound by stricter CC&Rs must satisfy both the HOA's private restriction and the County's zoning minimum, with the association responsible for enforcing its own document, typically through a private civil action, not a county citation.