San Clemente, CA HOA Rules: CC&R Enforcement (2026)

030 ties the City's building permit process to private HOA governance without making the City the enforcer of CC&Rs itself. Before issuing a building permit for any residential development, the Building Official requires the applicant to certify, on an approved form, that the project complies with any declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions applicable to the property. Where the CC&Rs require sign-off from a homeowners' association, architectural review committee, or art jury, the applicant must also submit a document signed by an authorized association representative confirming that approval and identifying the plans in enough detail for the Building Official to confirm they match what the City is reviewing.

If the exterior design, size, location or elevations change substantially after that certification, the Building Official can require a fresh certification and, if applicable, a fresh association sign-off. Two carve-outs limit how far this reaches. 5(a) definition. Second, under subsection B, a permit cannot be denied for failing to get association sign-off if the City would be legally barred by state or federal law from enforcing its own equivalent restriction, or if the applicant certifies the project doesn't violate the CC&Rs but genuinely cannot get a signature because the association is inactive or has sat on the request for more than 180 days.

The section explicitly disclaims any intent to create a City duty to protect against injury from a CC&R violation, meaning enforcement of the CC&Rs themselves, as opposed to the certification requirement, stays a private, civil matter between the homeowner and the association rather than a city code enforcement responsibility.