Palm Springs, CA

Palm Springs Fire Code Section 5614 bans manufacturing, selling, possessing, storing, handling or using both "safe and sane" and "dangerous" fireworks anywhere in the city, including…

Wood-burning fire pits and fire rings in Palm Springs must sit at least 25 feet from combustible structures unless equipped with a spark arrester, which shortens the setback to 3 feet…

CAL FIRE designates parts of Palm Springs bordering the San Jacinto foothills as Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, triggering building and disclosure requirements.

Palm Springs' Fire Code amendments ban outdoor wood or solid-fuel fires whenever sustained winds top 8 mph with humidity under 25 percent, a red-flag condition is declared, or the Fire…

Palm Springs Fire Code Section 325 lets the Fire Code Official require flammable vegetation and other combustible growth cleared for 10 feet on each side of any highway or private…

California Health & Safety Code §13113.7 requires working smoke alarms in every bedroom, hallway, and level of all dwellings, with sealed 10-year batteries.

Storing or using liquefied petroleum gas anywhere in unincorporated Riverside County requires a Fire Department operational permit under the county's Wildland-Urban Interface Code…

Palm Springs does not impose breed-specific legislation. California Food and Agriculture Code §31683 prohibits cities from enacting breed-specific bans, though it allows breed-specific…

Anyone whose cat breeds within Palm Springs city limits must first hold a City breeding permit, renewed annually for a fee the City Council sets by resolution. Permits cap breeding at…

Palm Springs treats chickens, roosters, ducks, geese and other farm animals as 'livestock,' not household pets, and its animal code makes it unlawful to keep livestock anywhere in the…

Palm Springs bans pet stores from selling dogs and cats outright: no retail store may display, sell, deliver, barter, auction or give away a dog or cat within the city. The ban exempts…

Veterinary clinics are a permitted use in Palm Springs's C-D-N neighborhood shopping center zone, but only as outpatient facilities. The Zoning Code's listing does not extend to…

Every dog in Palm Springs must be on a leash no longer than six feet whenever it leaves its owner's premises, held by someone capable of controlling it. City code defines a dog as…

Owning a wild or exotic animal in Palm Springs requires special written authorization from the Animal Control Officer before the animal ever comes onto the property, plus an annual…

Pet shops that include grooming are a permitted use in the C-D-N designed neighborhood shopping center zone, but the Zoning Code draws a hard line at kennel facilities: overnight…

Palm Springs bans killing, capturing or molesting any wildlife species, including birds, and damaging nests or eggs anywhere in the city, with the whole city designated a wildlife…

Riverside County requires owners of unaltered dogs and cats to spay or neuter the animal, get a veterinarian-signed certificate of sterility, or (for dogs) buy an unaltered dog…

Every dog and cat in unincorporated Riverside County must be microchipped by four months old, with owners required to register the chip number and report any change of address or…

Riverside County has no ordinance using the word "hoarding," but Ordinance No. 630's kennel/cattery licensing thresholds, inspection powers, and public-nuisance provisions, combined…

Beekeeping in unincorporated Riverside County is treated as an agricultural use under Land Use Ordinance No. 348, which lists apiaries among permitted agricultural activities in the…

Riverside County bans feeding or leaving food for wild burros anywhere in the unincorporated county, a direct response to herds migrating into populated areas along roads and rail…

Registering a Palm Springs vacation rental costs a city council-set fee capped at the city's actual administration cost under Sec. 5.25.060(b). Owners must also file a monthly…

Renting a Palm Springs home for 28 days or less without a city registration certificate is prohibited outright. Municipal Code Sec. 5.25.040(a) requires the certificate before any…

Palm Springs vacation rental owners must carry commercial insurance covering the short-term use of their property. Municipal Code Sec. 5.25.070(u) requires the owner to "procure…

Palm Springs authorizes homesharing, renting a room while the owner remains on the property, under Section 5.25.078(a) if the owner holds a homesharing registration certificate, remits…

A Palm Springs homeshare owner must either live on-site or be able to respond to complaints within 30 minutes under Section 5.25.078(b). If neither condition is met, the unit is…

A third Chapter 5.25 violation within any 12-month period forces the Palm Springs city manager to suspend a vacation rental registration certificate for two years under Section…

Palm Springs caps vacation rental parking at one automobile per bedroom under Section 5.25.070(c) and bars advertising or renting units together as a cluster or compound. Every rental…

Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 5.25.070(b) limits how many rental contracts a vacation rental may sign in a calendar year: 26 for permits issued after Ordinance 2075 took effect…

Palm Springs requires vacation rental sound, radios, speakers and amplified music, to stay inside a fully enclosed unit and be inaudible at the property line under Section 5.25.070(g)…

Palm Springs caps vacation rental overnight occupancy at two persons per bedroom and eight total, plus up to two children age 12 or under, under Section 5.25.070(c). Owners may also…

Riverside County requires every short term rental to hold a county certificate before a hosting platform lists it, and makes booking a rental through a hosting platform without a valid…

Pilots using Palm Springs International Airport must follow the Airport's Noise Compatibility Program and fly procedures that minimize noise over surrounding neighborhoods…

Palm Springs bars powered model vehicles, domestic power tools, landscape equipment, and loading and unloading activity near homes between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. in residential zones under…

Palm Springs bans excessive vehicle exhaust noise and unlawful horn or siren use as declared "loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noises" under Municipal Code Section 11.74.043(a) and…

Palm Springs makes it unlawful to keep an animal that habitually barks, whines or makes loud noise so as to unreasonably disturb the neighborhood's peace and quiet. Watchdogs are…

Gasoline-powered leaf blowers are banned everywhere in Palm Springs, not just during certain hours: Section 11.74.043(k) prohibits using one to push, propel or blow cuttings, refuse or…

Palm Springs limits disturbing construction noise to 7 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays, and bars it entirely on Sundays and six named holidays. Once a worker is told…

Playing a radio, loudspeaker, musical instrument, or other sound-amplifying device on a Palm Springs street, sidewalk, or public place is unlawful if it unreasonably interferes with…

Unincorporated Riverside County caps exterior noise reaching neighboring property at 75 dBA daytime for light and heavy industrial zones, dropping to 55 dBA at night for light…

Palm Springs bans irrigating lawns and landscaping between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and caps above-ground spray irrigation at 15 minutes per station. Drip irrigation, hand-held…

Palm Springs treats overgrown weeds, shrubs, and plants as a public nuisance when they block a public right-of-way, harbor vermin, create a fire hazard, or hurt neighboring property…

Palm Springs requires every property, including vacant lots and the parkway strip to the street centerline, to keep its landscaping in a healthy condition. Shrubs and trees must be…

Rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation is legal and encouraged in Palm Springs, though rainfall is extremely limited (about 4-6 inches annually). Rain barrels under 5,000…

Palm Springs actively encourages Sonoran Desert natives and climate-appropriate plants under PSMC Chapter 8.70, with approved plant lists emphasizing low-water species like palo verde…

Removing a living native tree from land over half an acre above 5,000 feet elevation in unincorporated Riverside County requires a planning department permit, with narrow exemptions…

Artificial turf is allowed in unincorporated Riverside County, and California Civil Code 4735 prevents HOAs from banning synthetic grass used as a low-water alternative. A new state…

SB 1383 requires every California resident and business to separate food scraps and yard waste from trash, with universal collection or on-site composting.

Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 12.32.100 lets the city traffic engineer paint curbs to set parking rules: red bars all stopping, yellow limits loading to set hours, white limits…

Palm Springs Municipal Code Chapter 12.60 lets the city traffic engineer designate yellow-painted loading zones in business districts and near public assembly halls, marked 'LOADING…

Palm Springs bans stopping, standing or parking anywhere a posted sign or curb marking sets a prohibition or time limit under Municipal Code Section 12.32.010. On one-way streets…

Every off-street parking area in Palm Springs, including a home's driveway and parking pad, must be paved under Zoning Code Section 93.06.00(C)(2): a minimum two-and-a-half-inch…

Palm Springs enforces California Vehicle Code §22651 and §22669 and Palm Springs Municipal Code Chapter 12 to remove abandoned vehicles from streets and private property. A vehicle…

Palm Springs runs electric vehicle charging stations through the same kind of expedited, nondiscretionary permit process it uses for rooftop solar, under Chapter 8.105 adopted to…

Recreational vehicles, trailers, semitrailers and boats cannot be parked or stored in a Palm Springs residential zone under Section 11.96.020(a) unless they sit in an approved RV-park…

Parking or storing a motor truck in any Palm Springs residential zone is unlawful unless it is inside an enclosed building, per Section 11.96.020(b). Small motor trucks under 6½ feet…

Unincorporated Riverside County has no general overnight street-parking ban. Vehicles may park overnight on county highways subject only to the 72-hour (three-day) limit in Ordinance…

California doesn't ban private-property towing, but Vehicle Code Section 22658 controls how it happens. A posted sign at least 17 by 22 inches must warn drivers before a tow company…

Palm Springs caps walls and fences at six feet in side and rear yards and four and a half feet in front and side front yards under Zoning Code Section 93.02.00. Near a street corner…

Palm Springs bans barbed wire and razor wire fencing citywide except for governmental or quasi-governmental agencies, or with Planning Commission approval, under Zoning Code Section…

Palm Springs defers to California Civil Code §841 (Good Neighbor Fence Act) for shared boundary fences. Adjoining property owners are presumed to benefit equally from a boundary fence…

Palm Springs requires a building permit for most fences and walls, but Municipal Code § 8.04.015 exempts solid fences and walls up to 42 inches high and open fences, built with at…

Palm Springs exempts short retaining walls from a building permit under Municipal Code § 8.04.015, amending CBC § 105.2. A retaining wall not over 3 feet high, measured from the bottom…

Above-ground pools deeper than 18 inches and spas holding more than 18 inches of water are regulated like in-ground pools under the CA Building Code and H&S §115920+. They require…

Palm Springs enforces California Building Code Appendix V and Health & Safety Code §115920–115929 (the Swimming Pool Safety Act) requiring barriers at least 60 inches tall with…

Palm Springs Municipal Code § 93.23.14(E)(4) bars renting any accessory dwelling unit or junior ADU for less than 30 days, regardless of when the unit was built. The rule closes off…

An accessory building in a Palm Springs R-1 zone needs a permitted main dwelling already on the lot, since the Zoning Code makes it unlawful to build one without one. Where accessory…

Palm Springs allows accessory dwelling units under Municipal Code § 93.23.14, with two approval tracks: a building-permit-only path for converted or limited detached ADUs up to 800…

Palm Springs Municipal Code § 93.23.14(E)(7) exempts accessory dwelling units from any owner-occupancy requirement, but junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs) are generally required…

Riverside County calculates accessory dwelling unit impact and connection fees under County Code Section 17.294.070, tied to Government Code Sections 65852.2 and 65852.22 and County…

Riverside County allows tiny homes and residential shipping containers as a use by right in the R-7 and MU zones and in any zone that permits one-family dwellings or ADUs, under County…

California ADU law, Government Code 66310 et seq. (formerly 65852.2), expressly authorizes converting an existing garage into an ADU, with no replacement parking allowed and…

Family Day Care Homes in Palm Springs are protected under California Health & Safety Code §1597.40-1597.465, which declares them a residential use. The city cannot require a…

California Cottage Food Operations (CFO) under Health & Safety Code §114365 are permitted in Palm Springs homes with Riverside County Department of Environmental Health registration or…

Home businesses in Palm Springs cannot display any sign at all. Municipal Code Sec. 5.22.050(12) prohibits "all displays, signs, and/or on premises advertisements" for a home…

Palm Springs home occupation permits bar any increase in customer traffic outright. Municipal Code Sec. 5.22.050(5) and (10) forbid advertising that draws pedestrian or vehicular…

Home occupations in Palm Springs require a home occupation permit before starting. Municipal Code Sec. 5.22.030 has the business license collector issue that permit alongside a…

California lets home cooks sell meals from their own kitchen under a microenterprise home kitchen operation (MEHKO) permit, capped at 30 meals a day, 90 a week, and $100,000 in annual…

HOAs in Palm Springs enforce architectural review under Davis-Stirling and their CC&Rs. Homeowners typically must obtain HOA approval for exterior modifications, and projects in Palm…

HOAs in unincorporated Riverside County operate under the California Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civil Code §4000 et seq.). The Act requires open board meetings…

Davis-Stirling requires HOAs to offer Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) under Civ Code §5910 and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) under §5930 before litigating most disputes…

HOA assessments in Riverside County follow Davis-Stirling rules (Civ Code §5600-5740). Regular assessments may increase up to 20% per year without a vote; special assessments above 5%…

California overrides HOA governing documents on several owner protections. The Davis-Stirling Act and related Civil Code sections bar HOAs from prohibiting solar systems, U.S. flag…

California voids any HOA governing-document clause that effectively bans or unreasonably restricts a clothesline or drying rack in an owner's exclusive-use backyard. Civil Code Section…

Civil Code section 4735 voids any HOA rule that bans low-water plants, turf replacement, or artificial turf, and bars fines for cutting back watering during a declared drought…

Civil Code § 4745 voids any HOA covenant or governing-document rule that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installing an EV charging station in an owner's unit or designated parking…

Civil Code § 4705 bars every California homeowners association from limiting a member's display of the United States flag on their own lot or within their exclusive-use common area…

California law caps homeowners association fines at $100 per violation or the amount listed in the association's published penalty schedule, whichever is less. Civil Code section 5850…

A California homeowners association cannot foreclose on a member’s home over unpaid dues until the delinquent assessments alone reach $1,800, or until the assessments secured by the…

Civil Code § 4741 bars every California homeowners association from adopting or enforcing a rule that prohibits, or unreasonably restricts, renting out a separate interest, and sets a…

Palm Springs is a desert city and does not receive snowfall, so no snow removal ordinance applies. Sidewalks must be kept clear of debris, sand, palm fronds, and obstructions under…

Palm Springs requires owners of vacant land with more than 5,000 square feet of disturbed surface to physically block trespass access within 30 days of a city notice, then stabilize…

Palm Springs declares any property meeting the code's definition of "blight" a public nuisance under Section 11.72.162, drawing on a detailed definition in Section 8.80.120 that covers…

California Civil Code Section 714 prohibits HOAs from banning solar installations or imposing restrictions that significantly increase cost (over $1,000) or decrease efficiency (over…

Palm Springs must approve or reject a small residential rooftop solar permit within three business days once an application meets the city's checklist, under the AB 2188 expedited…

California Civil Code Section 714 (Solar Rights Act) protects homeowners' right to install solar. Palm Springs issues solar PV permits through an expedited residential process under AB…

Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 6.08.010 makes it an unlawful nuisance for any owner or agent to let a vacant or unoccupied building sit open to trespassers or become infested with…

Palm Springs restaurants are graded A, B, or C on the health officer's inspection score sheet under § 6.06.020 and § 6.06.040, with A meaning 90% or higher, B meaning 80-89%, and C…

Anyone handling food, drink, or food-service dishware for a Palm Springs establishment must hold a food worker's certificate within fourteen days of starting the job, § 6.07.020, and…

California Civil Code 1954.603 requires landlords to provide bed bug disclosures to tenants, and Riverside County Environmental Health responds to complaints involving habitability and…

Palm Springs bans smoking outright in every city park under Municipal Code Section 6.10.081, no designated area exception. The ban sits inside a broader Chapter 6.10 scheme that also…

Palm Springs bars drinking or possessing an open container of alcohol on any public street, sidewalk, highway or other publicly owned property open to the public, under Section…

Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 12.68.020 requires pedestrians in any business district to cross the roadway only at a marked crosswalk. The city traffic engineer establishes and…

Palm Springs bans skateboards, scooters, roller skates and similar devices on any open roadway, and on sidewalks or plazas within a business district, under Municipal Code Section…

Riverside County bans urinating or defecating anywhere but a restroom inside county and regional parks and open-space areas. County Code Section 12.28.010(B)(24) makes it an…

Riverside County can bill hosts, residents, and property owners for sheriff response costs when a loud or unruly gathering becomes a repeat public nuisance in unincorporated areas.

Palm Springs requires every mobile food vending vehicle to hold an annual City Manager permit under Municipal Code Chapter 6.15, on top of a Riverside County mobile food facility…

Palm Springs regulates sidewalk vendors under California SB 946 (Gov. Code 51036-51039), which decriminalizes sidewalk vending statewide and limits cities to health, safety, and…

Palm Springs restricts food truck and sidewalk vendor operation to specific zones and times. Sidewalk vendors are protected under California SB 946 and SB 972 and cannot be banned…

Anyone doing commercial solicitation in Palm Springs, door-to-door sales, canvassing, contract signing, must get a City Manager-issued solicitation permit through the police department…

Palm Springs residents can bar door-to-door solicitors outright by posting a "NO SOLICITORS" sign or telling them not to return, and citywide hours cap solicitation to between 8 a.m…

Palm Springs has no separate "cultural monument" ordinance; its equivalent is City Council designation of a Class 1 or Class 2 historic resource under Municipal Code Section 8.05.070…

Car alarms in Palm Springs are exempt from the city's Security Alarm Systems chapter unless wired into a central monitoring system. Municipal Code Sec. 5.02.020 excuses ordinary…

Palm Springs limits how long a heavy delivery truck can idle near homes at night. Municipal Code Section 11.74.043(d) caps stationary idling of vehicles over 10,000 pounds GVWR to 15…

In unincorporated Riverside County, a generator can't be audible inside a neighbor's home between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., or heard from more than 100 feet away at any other hour, under the…

Bars and venues in unincorporated Riverside County must silence sound-amplifying equipment and live music by 10 p.m. and keep it under 200 feet audible otherwise.

Riverside County's noise ordinance exempts heating and air conditioning equipment outright from the decibel limits and nighttime curfews in Chapter 9.52. Section 9.52.020(L) lists…

Commercial-type bins and roll-off debris boxes serving Palm Springs businesses must meet specific construction standards under Municipal Code §§ 6.04.070 and 6.04.075. Any bin placed…

Green Waste set out for the City's hauler in Palm Springs must go in the Green Container designated under § 6.04.040 and follow the citywide curbside window fixed by § 6.04.110: no…

Every Single-Family Waste Generator in Palm Springs must subscribe to the City's three-container system and route Source Separated Recyclable Materials into the Blue Container, keeping…

Palm Springs treats furniture, appliances and other large bulky items as outside the regular curbside cart system entirely. Anything too big or heavy for normal collection has to go…

Palm Springs bars putting trash, recycling or organic waste out in the street, alley or sidewalk except in proper containers, and only within a set window: from 5 p.m. the day before…

Palm Springs declares unsightly, dumped refuse and waste a public nuisance under Municipal Code Section 11.72.030, covering everything from construction debris to inoperative vehicle…

Every owner or occupant of real property in Palm Springs must subscribe to Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, and Organic Waste collection service under § 6.04.200(a). The City Council…

Palm Springs residential waste containers cannot sit behind locked gates or doors, or inside a fenced area also used to pen animals, and must stay filled no higher than level and kept…

Food Waste in Palm Springs must be drained of liquids and placed in a Green or Brown Container, composted on site, or taken to a composting facility, § 6.04.090. Generators may…

Palm Springs Commercial Businesses and multi-family dwellings must subscribe to the City's three-container Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, and Organic Waste service under §…

Palm Springs' Wildland-Urban Interface Code, adopted at Municipal Code Section 8.04.090, requires hazardous vegetation and fuels around buildings to be maintained under five named…

Anyone building or developing within a Palm Springs area of special flood hazard must first obtain an area of special flood hazard development permit from the city, submitting scaled…

Palm Springs bans any discharge into its storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater, covering everything from construction wash water to dumped refuse and abandoned…

Every construction site in Palm Springs must control erosion and sediment under Riverside County Ordinance 457, which the city adopts by reference in Section 8.70.090. The City…

Palm Springs requires new and substantially improved homes in AE, AH and A1-30 flood zones to elevate the lowest floor, including any basement, at least two feet above the base flood…

The California Coastal Act, Public Resources Code sections 30000 through 30900, requires Coastal Development Permits for nearly all work in the coastal zone and gives the Coastal…

Palm Springs allows only one garage, patio or yard sale per residential address every six months, and the sale cannot run longer than three days or outside the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. window…

Palm Springs caps garage-sale signage at one sign, no bigger than five square feet, and it must sit on the property where the sale is happening. The sign can stand no higher than four…

In Palm Springs' Downtown/Uptown sign district, a window sign used as a business's Main Sign cannot exceed 40% of the total glazed area or 15 square feet, whichever is smaller, under…

Signs aimed at Interstate 10 traffic near the Whitewater, Indian Avenue/Indian Canyon Drive and Gene Autry Trail interchanges need Planning Commission architectural review under…

Palm Springs bans digital and animated billboards outright. Section 93.20.04(B) of the Sign Ordinance prohibits any sign that rotates, moves, flashes, reflects or blinks, and…

Palm Springs classifies political and election signs as "temporary signs" under Section 93.20.03, and on residential property Section 93.20.09(A)(1) allows them without a permit, at…

Inside the Bermuda Dunes Neighborhood Preservation Overlay in unincorporated Riverside County, a holiday display such as Christmas lights or Halloween decorations can stay up for a…

Palm Springs requires every adult-oriented business to hold a city business license before opening, and the Finance and Treasury Director can only issue one if the site sits at least…

Pawnbrokers in Palm Springs need both a business license tax under Chapter 3.84 and a police-issued permit under Chapter 5.44 before opening. The Chief of Police reviews the…

Secondhand dealers in Palm Springs pay a business license tax under Section 3.84.350 and, like pawnbrokers, must file a daily report of every item bought or taken on deposit with the…

Palm Springs police cannot request a nonconsensual tow from any company that is not under contract with the city as an official police tow services provider, per Section 11.82.040…

Palm Springs requires a City Manager-issued massage establishment permit for every business location under Section 5.34.040, plus a CAMTC certificate for every massagist and a separate…

Every tobacco retailer in Palm Springs must hold a permit issued and enforced under Riverside County Ordinance No. 838, which Municipal Code Section 6.11.020 incorporates by reference…

Body art facilities and practitioners in unincorporated Riverside County must hold a Department of Environmental Health permit, with tattooing anyone under 18 a state crime.

It is unlawful in Palm Springs to stand, loiter or otherwise occupy a street, sidewalk or public way so as to annoy pedestrians or block the free passage of foot or vehicle traffic…

Palm Springs requires a Public Works Director-issued encroachment permit before anyone builds, plants, excavates, stores material, or otherwise occupies the public right-of-way under…

Under California Streets and Highways Code section 5610, Palm Springs property owners are generally responsible for maintaining and repairing the sidewalk adjacent to their property…

Palm Springs taxes paid parking in commercial parking stations at 25% of the rent charged, capped at 25 cents per vehicle per day or 10% of a monthly rate. The first hour of any stay…

Palm Springs sorts every business into one of four license tax bases: a fixed fee, the graduated employee-count scale, a graduated scale with a set minimum, or gross receipts. Most…

Palm Springs landlords covered by the city's Chapter 4.02 rent control ordinance must register each rental unit with the Rent Review Commission and pay a per-unit registration fee…

Palm Springs adopts the International Property Maintenance Code as its habitability standard and requires air conditioning, not just heat, in every dwelling. Municipal Code § 8.04.036…

Palm Springs' local rent control ordinance requires landlords of covered units to give at least 90 days' written notice before any rent increase takes effect, longer than typical state…

After 12 months of tenancy (or 24 months with multiple adults), California's AB 1482 requires landlords to have just cause to terminate tenancy. At-fault causes include nonpayment and…

Palm Springs has no local rent control beyond California's statewide Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482). AB 1482 caps annual rent increases at 5% plus local CPI (max 10%) for covered…

California SB 329 amended FEHA to prohibit Riverside County landlords from refusing to rent to applicants who use Section 8 housing choice vouchers or other government rental…

California AB 12, effective July 2024, caps residential security deposits at one month of rent for most Riverside County landlords. Small landlords owning two or fewer properties may…

California Civil Code 1940.2 prohibits Riverside County landlords from using force, threats, fraud, or repeated unreasonable entries to push tenants out. Violations can result in civil…

California Civil Code section 1946.2 requires landlords of covered Riverside County rentals to include a specific just-cause and rent-cap disclosure in every lease and in a separate…

AB 1482 requires one month of relocation assistance for no-fault evictions in Riverside County. Additional relocation may be triggered when a county code enforcement order forces…

The Housing Authority of the County of Riverside administers federal Housing Choice Vouchers across unincorporated areas and most cities. Landlords accepting vouchers sign a HAP…

Under AB 1482, Riverside County landlords removing covered tenants for no-fault reasons such as owner move-in, withdrawal from the rental market, or substantial remodel must provide…

California evictions run through the unlawful detainer process. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 1161, nonpayment requires a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit (excluding weekends and…

California Civil Code § 1954 limits when a landlord may enter a rented home. Except in emergencies, abandonment, or with tenant consent, the landlord must give reasonable written…

California sets no fixed dollar or percentage cap on rent late fees, but a late fee in a residential lease is treated as liquidated damages. Under Civil Code § 1671, such a fee is…

To end a California month-to-month tenancy, a tenant gives 30 days' written notice. A landlord gives 30 days if the tenant has lived there under a year, or 60 days if a year or more…

California adverse possession requires five years of continuous, open, hostile possession AND payment of all property taxes during that period under Code of Civil Procedure § 325. A…

Swimming pool construction in Palm Springs runs through five mandatory inspections spelled out in Municipal Code § 8.04.015, which adds subsection 110.3.13 to the adopted California…

Palm Springs adopts the 2025 California Plumbing Code by reference under Municipal Code § 8.04.030, and locks down who can pull the permit for plumbing work: § 8.04.015 adds CBC §…

Palm Springs adopts the 2025 California Electrical Code by reference under Municipal Code § 8.04.050, then layers on local amendments in § 8.04.055 that reach every new single-family…

Palm Springs adopts the 2025 California Building Code by reference under Municipal Code § 8.04.010, and the Department of Building and Safety enforces it. Under § 8.04.015, a building…

Palm Springs' Building Security Regulations mandate exact deadbolt specifications on every exterior swinging door and garage-to-house door: a one-inch bolt projection…

Palm Springs enforces the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) as the Palm Springs Green Building Code under Municipal Code Section 8.04.070, adopted without local…

Palm Springs requires automatic fire sprinklers in any new building, including single-family homes, built beyond a five-minute fire department response time under Municipal Code §…

Palm Springs bars minors under 18 from public places and businesses between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. under Municipal Code Section 11.56.010. Violations are punishable by escalating fines or…

Palm Springs parks close between 10:00 p.m. and dawn under Section 11.44.060(20), and no one may enter or stay inside a closed park without a city manager permit. The city manager can…

Outdoor dining set up on public property, including the streets and sidewalks of the Central Business District, needs a Land Use Permit under the Zoning Code before a restaurant can…

Palm Springs requires a written permit from the city manager before anyone may conduct or manage a parade, coordinated through the police chief and community development director under…

Palm Springs requires a city manager permit for any meeting, picnic, celebration or gathering of six or more people in a park or recreation area once warning signs are posted, under…

Palm Springs' director of community development may close any street for celebrations, parades, block parties and other local special events under Municipal Code Section 12.80.010…

Palm Springs lets the City Manager temporarily suspend regulatory ordinances, including the noise and sign ordinances, for street fairs, festivals and other visitor-drawing special…

Palm Springs makes it unlawful to let water leak from any exterior or interior pipe, hose or fixture, and requires landscape irrigation systems to be inspected, maintained and repaired…

Palm Springs' water conservation chapter defines recycled water as the capture, reclamation and reuse of non-potable water for beneficial use, and the city's purpose is to maximize…

Palm Springs caps ornamental turf at 15 percent of the landscaped area on single-family front and side street yards and on commercial or industrial sites, and bars turf altogether on…

Palm Springs requires outdoor lighting to "maintain ambient lighting levels as low as possible... and maintain dark skies" under Section 93.21.00(A). Pole- and wall-mounted parking…

Palm Springs defines "Light Trespass" in Section 93.21.00(A)(9) as illumination that spills "off the subject project site" onto neighboring property, and controls it through the same…

An illuminated billboard in unincorporated Riverside County must be built so that no light bulb, tube, filament or similar light source is visible beyond the display face, and it…

California law allows adults 21+ to grow up to 6 cannabis plants per residence for personal use. Palm Springs permits indoor cultivation and limited outdoor cultivation in secure…

Palm Springs allows licensed cannabis dispensaries only in zoning districts that specifically list the use, and Zoning Code Section 93.23.15(C) sets hard buffers: 500 feet between…

Palm Springs Municipal Code § 93.23.15(C) sets fixed separation distances for cannabis facilities: 500 feet between dispensaries and lounges, 1,000 feet between cultivation or…

State law allows licensed cannabis delivery into any California jurisdiction, including unincorporated Riverside County, even where the county has not authorized retail storefronts at…

Riverside County permits up to six cannabis plants per residence indoors for personal use, mirroring state Proposition 64 minimums while restricting outdoor cultivation in…

Chapter 11.72 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code lists the specific conditions city code compliance treats as public nuisances subject to enforcement, from fire hazard vegetation to…

Palm Springs caps sound at the property line under Municipal Code Sec. 11.74.031: 50 dBA day, 45 evening, 40 night at low-density homes; 70/60/55 dBA industrial. Sec. 11.74.043(i)…

The City of Palm Springs has no data-center ordinance and no "data center" use category. Data centers site in the M-1 Service/Manufacturing, M-2 Manufacturing, and M-1-P…

Palm Springs exempts barbecue grills and other portable cooking-only devices from its outdoor fireplace and fire pit rules entirely. A built-in gas fire feature, by contrast, needs…

Palm Springs requires a motion picture or still photography permit from the film permit officer before shooting anywhere in the city outside a fixed studio, and the application must…

Riverside County's filming ordinance names student films among the productions it regulates, requiring a free permit from the CEO's office before shooting on public or private property…

Anyone filming commercial motion pictures, TV, commercials or still photography on public or private property in unincorporated Riverside County needs a free permit before using county…

R-1 zone homes in Palm Springs are capped at one story and 12 feet at the minimum setback line under Zoning Code Section 92.01.03(B)(5). From there, the roof can climb along a 4:12…

Palm Springs sets yard setbacks by R-1 subzone under Zoning Code Section 92.01.03(B). A front yard facing a local or collector street must run at least 25 feet in the R-1-AH through…

Palm Springs caps how much of an R-1 single-family lot a building can cover at 35% in the R-1-AH, R-1-A, R-1-B, R-1-C and R-1-D zones, rising to 45% in R-1-E. The Department of…

Palm Springs Municipal Code § 93.23.17 implements the State Density Bonus Law (Gov. Code §§ 65915-65918). A project with 10% low-income restricted units earns a 20% density bonus…

Rideshare drivers picking up passengers at Palm Springs International Airport may stop, stage or wait only in the designated TNC Staging Area or TNC Pick-Up Area under Municipal Code…

Class 1 and 2 electric bicycles may use Riverside County sidewalks and trails with restrictions, but Class 3 e-bikes, mopeds and motor-driven cycles are banned from sidewalks and…

Riverside Transit Agency and county active-transportation plans expand bike lanes, multi-use trails, and Class IV protected lanes, with state laws requiring bicyclists to follow the…

A low-speed vehicle in California may not be driven on any roadway with a speed limit above 35 miles per hour. Vehicle Code section 21260 permits it to cross a faster road only where…

Palm Springs bans camping or sleeping on public property citywide, with an outright ban near schools, shelters, transit hubs, waterways and posted parks regardless of shelter…

Palm Springs bans card and dice games for money citywide except inside a licensed gaming club, adopted by voters as Measure L in 1995. Clubs need a city license, a gaming-overlay…

California Penal Code § 326.5 lets only tax-exempt nonprofits, mobilehome park associations, senior groups, and school-affiliated charities run bingo, and only under a local city or…

California law exempts private home card games from gambling regulation entirely. Penal Code § 337j(e)(2)(D) excludes any card game played in a private home or residence from the…

California has no legal sports betting, in stores or online. Penal Code section 337a criminalizes bookmaking, pool-selling, and placing or accepting any bet on the result of a sporting…

Commercial farms in unincorporated Riverside County can't be sued as a nuisance once they've run three years without complaint, even if houses later move in next door.

Riverside County's right-to-farm ordinance shields commercial farms on land zoned A-1, A-2, A-D, A-P, or C/V from nuisance suits once an operation has run for more than three years…

Riverside County charges a 10 percent transient occupancy tax on hotel, motel, and short-term rental stays under 30 days in the unincorporated county, collected by operators and…

California Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act, restricts state and local law enforcement from using resources to investigate, detain, or arrest persons for federal immigration…

Labor Code section 2814 prohibits California state and local governments from requiring private employers to use the federal E-Verify system except where federal law mandates it…

California Labor Code section 246 requires employers to provide 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave annually after 30 days of employment. Riverside County follows the statewide…

California sets a statewide minimum wage of $16.50 per hour effective 2026 under Labor Code section 1182.12. Riverside County does not set a separate county-wide wage floor for…

Unincorporated Riverside County inspects short-term rental properties before certification and again anytime code enforcement requests, checking the required sign, on-site parking, and…

New land divisions in unincorporated Riverside County must plant street trees as a condition of approval, spaced roughly 60 feet apart with one tree per lot frontage.

Removing a living native tree above 5,000 feet elevation on a parcel over half an acre requires a planning director permit in unincorporated Riverside County: cutting, poisoning, or…

California provides statewide protections for native oak woodlands and heritage trees through CEQA review, Public Resources Code, and Forest Practice Rules that apply uniformly.

California Assembly Bill 1276 requires food facilities, including those in Riverside County, to provide single-use foodware accessories and condiments only on customer request or at…

Under California Assembly Bill 1884, dine-in restaurants in Riverside County may not automatically provide single-use plastic straws; customers must request one. Fast-food and takeout…

California prohibits grocery stores and large retailers from providing single-use plastic carryout bags under Public Resources Code 42280-42288, enacted by SB 270 (2014) and ratified…

California restricts expanded polystyrene food containers statewide through SB 54 (2022) packaging requirements under Public Resources Code 42040-42081. The law mandates that…

California Senate Bill 7 raised the minimum sales age for tobacco and vape products to 21, ahead of federal Tobacco 21, and Riverside County retailers must verify identification and…

California Senate Bill 793, upheld by Proposition 31 in 2022, bans the sale of flavored tobacco products statewide, including in Riverside County retailers, with limited exemptions for…

California is a strict two-party (all-party) consent state under Penal Code §632. Recording any confidential conversation, in person, by phone, or electronically, without the consent…

Security cameras are legal on private property in unincorporated Riverside County, but California is a two-party consent state for audio recording (Penal Code §632). Video-only…

Any development in unincorporated Riverside County that needs an approved landscaping plan, including qualifying plot plans, conditional use permits and subdivisions, must avoid…

California regulates concealed carry weapons licenses statewide under Penal Code 26150 through 26225. Senate Bill 2 (2023) imposes uniform sensitive-place restrictions and applicant…

California preempts most local firearm regulation under Government Code 53071 and Penal Code 25605, reserving licensing, registration, and manufacture authority to the state. However…

California broadly prohibits open carry of firearms statewide under Penal Code 25850 (loaded firearms in public) and Penal Code 26350 (open carry of unloaded handguns). The prohibition…

California prohibits carrying loaded firearms in vehicles statewide under Penal Code 25400 and 25850. Unloaded handguns transported in private vehicles must be in a locked container or…

Sobriety checkpoints are lawful in California and stopping at one is a statutory obligation, not a courtesy. Vehicle Code § 2814.2(a) requires a driver to stop and submit to a sobriety…

California is one of the few states that answers this by statute rather than by case law alone. Penal Code § 148(g) says that photographing or making an audio or video recording of a…

California has no general stop-and-identify statute. The old Penal Code § 647(e), which required a person lawfully detained to give "credible and reliable" identification, was held…

California has no statute that requires you to consent to a search of your car, and none that requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What the Legislature and the voters…

California works from a closed list: Vehicle Code section 24003 says no vehicle may carry any lamp or illuminating device not required or permitted by the code, so an accessory light…

California measures dash cam placement in square inches. Vehicle Code section 26708(b)(13) lets a video event recorder occupy a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield…

Lane splitting is lawful in California. Vehicle Code section 21658.1, added by AB 51 in 2016, defines it as driving a motorcycle with two wheels in contact with the ground between rows…

California does not let you put a cover over your license plate. Vehicle Code section 5201(c) allows exactly two things: a full car cover on a lawfully parked vehicle, and a license…

No section of the California Vehicle Code makes it an offense for a private motorist to own, carry or use a radar detector. The prohibition in Vehicle Code section 28150 reaches only…

California permits metal studded tires only between November 1 and April 30, and only where the studs are tungsten carbide or another suitable material and the metal touching the road…

California never publishes a "legal VLT" for front side windows because it does not permit aftermarket darkening there at all. Vehicle Code section 26708(d) allows only clear…