Salem, OR HOA Rules: CC&R Enforcement (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SRC § 110.060 - Relationship to private regulations
- City enforces
- UDC standards, not private CC&Rs
- Conflict rule
- UDC controls if stricter than the CC&R
- HOA notice duty
- Registered agent notified on interpretations
- General conflict rule
- Most restrictive standard governs, § 110.050
Summary
Salem's Unified Development Code applies to every property regardless of private HOA covenants, conditions, or restrictions, and the City will not step in to enforce a CC&R violation. Under SRC 110.060, though, if the zoning code sets a stricter standard than your CC&Rs, the zoning code controls instead.
(a)The UDC shall be applied independently of, and without regard to, any private easement, covenant, condition, restriction, or other legally enforceable interest in, or obligation imposed on, the use or development of land.(b)The City does not enforce any easement, covenant, condition, restriction, or other agreement between private parties, nor is the UDC generally intended to abrogate, annul, or impair such easements, covenants, conditions, restrictions, or agreements. In those instances where the UDC imposes a greater restriction or higher standards than required by an easement, covenant, condition, restriction, or other agreement between private parties, or where the UDC otherwise conflicts with those private party agreements, the UDC shall control.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
060(a) states the UDC is applied 'independently of, and without regard to' any private easement, covenant, condition, or restriction on land use, meaning a property's zoning compliance is judged against the code, not against what an HOA's governing documents allow or forbid. 060(b) goes further: the City 'does not enforce' any covenant, condition, restriction, or other private-party agreement, and the UDC isn't generally meant to void or impair those private agreements, so a homeowner or HOA still has to sue in civil court, not call code enforcement, to make a neighbor comply with a CC&R.
060(b) makes the UDC control. 075(f)(1)(D)(v) requires the City to mail that HOA notice of the resulting decision. That's a procedural courtesy, though, not enforcement of the HOA's own rules. 050 provides that where a conflict exists between UDC standards, or between the UDC and other Salem Revised Code rules, the most restrictive standard governs.
Violations & Fines
There's no city penalty tied to SRC 110.060 itself since it doesn't regulate conduct; it only draws the line between city and private authority. A CC&R breach stays a private civil matter between the homeowner and the HOA. A UDC violation, on the other hand, remains code enforcement's responsibility under SRC 110.065 and 110.070 no matter what a CC&R separately allows, and knowingly filing false information on a City application is a misdemeanor under SRC 110.155.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Salem code enforcement cite my neighbor for violating our HOA's CC&Rs?
My CC&Rs allow something the Salem zoning code doesn't. Which one wins?
Does my HOA get notified if I ask the City for a zoning interpretation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salem
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