Pismo Beach, CA

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Chapter 8.32 defines weeds by hazard, not height: growth that becomes a fire menace when dry or is noxious or dangerous. The City Council can…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no one can deface, destroy, burn or remove a tree in a public place without first filing an application and securing an encroachment permit from…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, outdoor irrigation is prohibited between ten a.m. and four p.m., and watering during or within 48 hours after measurable rainfall is prohibited…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no one can cut, remove or transplant a native oak tree, or clear brush or encroach into its protected zone, on public or private property…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 15.48.010(C) prohibits new irrigated turf areas for all development beginning May 18, 2022, until the subsection is repealed…

San Luis Obispo County normally requires an abandoned septic tank to be pumped out and completely filled with earth or gravel. Section 19.07.027(a) carves out one exception: the tank…

San Luis Obispo County exempts land kept in native vegetation from its formal landscaping standards. Under Section 22.16.020.B, setback and undeveloped areas on Agriculture and Rural…

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

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Chapter 8.32 treats dry grass, stubble, brush and flammable garden refuse as weeds when they constitute a fire hazard, and puts the fire chief…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no waste matter, combustible material or refuse can be burned in the open air, except barbecue fires and burning conducted or authorized by the…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, § 8.04.040 designates the Fire Hazard Severity Zones recommended by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, dated March 10, 2025, as the city's…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the possession, manufacture, storage, sale, handling and use of fireworks are prohibited, including Safe and Sane fireworks. The one exception…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, installing any liquefied petroleum gas tank over 500 gallons water capacity is prohibited unless the fire code official approves it. For…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, it is unlawful to start, make or leave, or prepare to start or make any fire within the beach safety zone, which is the whole publicly owned…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 6.04.060 B prohibits the intentional raising or keeping of bees in the city. Animal raising is otherwise allowed without a land…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 6.04.060 B prohibits the intentional raising or keeping of lions, tigers, poisonous snakes, alligators and other typically wild…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, poultry and rabbits are allowed without a land use permit on a site of at least 2,500 square feet, kept in covered coops or pens, at one mature…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, every dog must be on a leash of no more than six feet, held by a person capable of controlling the dog. Exceptions cover enclosed private…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, it is unlawful to feed any pigeon, seagull or other bird on the Cypress Street Bridge or within 100 feet of the bank of Pismo Creek. A separate…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, feeding pigeons, seagulls or any other bird is unlawful anywhere in the pier zone, which takes in the entire city pier, the boardwalk extending…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a veterinary clinic or animal hospital must sit at least five hundred feet from any residential zoning district, and every facility for keeping…

San Luis Obispo County Animal Services administers a soft household limit of three dogs and three cats per residence; owners wishing to keep more must apply annually for a Multiple…

No San Luis Obispo County-specific ordinance directly imposes breed-based bans or ownership restrictions; California state default applies. Under CA Food & Agricultural Code § 31683…

Every dog and cat over four months old in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County must carry an identifying microchip under County Code Section 9.03.001, with narrow health and age-based…

San Luis Obispo County outright bans owning or keeping a coyote as a wild, dangerous animal under Code Sec. 9.02.009, bars feeding wildlife in county parks without the director's…

San Luis Obispo County caps most properties at three cats, bans letting an unaltered cat roam at large under Code Sec. 9.03.004, and requires rabies vaccination for any cat allowed…

San Luis Obispo County requires dogs and cats leaving the county shelter to be spayed or neutered before adoption, with a refundable deposit if a vet certifies the animal is too sick…

San Luis Obispo County does not ban retail pet sales outright: Code Sec. 9.06.001 requires any pet shop, kennel, stable, or breeding operation to hold a commercial animal operation…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, dogs are household pets, and standards for noise apply to household pets. Municipal Code § 6.04.060 A.5 says no animal shall be kept which is…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, running construction, drilling, repair, alteration or demolition tools between weekday hours of seven p.m. and seven a.m., or at any time on…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, section 9.24.060 sets exterior noise limits by zone: 50 dBA from ten p.m. to seven a.m. and 55 dBA from seven a.m. to ten p.m. in residential…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, any helicopter or similar device flown within the city limits must carry a muffler or muffling device to prevent loud, unusual or annoying noise…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a parked vehicle's sound system cannot be audible from fifty or more feet away on a highway or public parking lot. Heavy vehicles over ten…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, radios, musical instruments and loudspeakers cannot create a noise disturbance across a residential and visitor serving property line between…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the noise code runs its nighttime clock from ten p.m. to seven a.m. Loading and unloading, power tools, radios and loudspeakers that create a…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the City Council designates residential permit parking areas by resolution after a noticed public hearing. Parking on a covered street during…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, curb paint follows a fixed color code: red means no stopping, standing or parking, yellow is for loading or unloading passengers or freight…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a vehicle must park parallel with the curb with its two right-hand wheels within one foot of the curb line, except on streets the City Council…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle on private or public property (not a highway) is a public nuisance. The chief of police…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no vehicle can stay in a city parking lot between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. without a permit from the city manager or a written agreement with…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, an oversize vehicle or trailer (over 23 feet long or 84 inches high) cannot park on a public street in a business district from 11:00 p.m. to…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1998 Zoning Code bars a commercial vehicle over eight feet high and/or twenty feet long, or towed equipment, from parking between six p.m…

The Pismo Beach Municipal Code prints two zoning codes under Title 17, and both regulate driveways. The 1983 Zoning Ordinance sets a ten foot minimum residential driveway and bars…

Pismo Beach requires off-street loading spaces for commercial uses, and its printed code carries two versions under Title 17. The 1983 Zoning Ordinance sets tractor-trailer spaces at…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 15.12.020 sets an administrative, nondiscretionary expedited permit process for electric vehicle charging stations, run by the…

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…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no owner can rent, offer or advertise a short-term rental or homestay without a license issued under Chapter 5.22. Section 5.22.130 caps…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, maximum overnight occupancy of a short-term rental or homestay is two people per bedroom plus two additional people, counting children. The…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, short-term rentals and homestays are permitted only at single-family properties that are the owner's primary residence, meaning the owner lives…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, renters and visitors at a short-term rental or homestay cannot make noise that unreasonably interferes with neighbors, and any noise after 10:00…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a homestay is an owner-occupied home with no yearly cap on rental days, provided the property owner is concurrently on-site. A short-term rental…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a short-term rental operated without the owner concurrently on site is limited to a maximum of 182 rental days per year. Homestays with the…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, every short-term rental and homestay must provide on-site parking by bedroom count: 1 space for 1 bedroom, 2 for 2 bedrooms, 3 for 3 to 4…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a short-term rental license faces revocation on a third violation of the same provision within a rolling year under § 5.22.140, and separately…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a licensed short-term rental owner collects and remits transient occupancy tax, lodging business improvement district assessments and the county…

San Luis Obispo County's Homestay ordinance, which caps home-based room rentals at two guest bedrooms, only reaches short stays. Sec. 22.30.270 states its standards do not apply to…

California requires hosting platforms to warn hosts to check their lease and insurance before listing (Business and Professions Code 22592), and AB 537 requires short-term lodging…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) can be used as a short-term rental. The municipal code says a rental…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the property owner must permanently reside on the parcel of every junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU), and of every ADU except those permitted…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, one ADU and one JADU are allowed per single-family dwelling, approved by zoning clearance outside the Coastal Zone or by coastal development…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the zoning chapters bar impact fees on an ADU or JADU under 750 square feet and charge larger ADUs proportionately to the primary unit. Title 15…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a garage can become a conversion ADU, and the 1983 Zoning Ordinance says the garage's off-street parking spaces need not be replaced, except for…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1983 Zoning Ordinance limits accessory structures in residential zones to fifteen feet in height with setbacks of twenty feet from the front…

San Luis Obispo County adopted California Residential Code Appendix BB so a tiny house can be permitted as a single dwelling unit. Section 19.03.020(2) amends Appendix BB Section…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1998 Zoning Code prohibits barbed wire, electrified fence and razor wire fence in any zoning district, whether used with a fence, wall or…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a retaining wall that retains earth only is exempt from land use permit requirements when it is less than twenty-four inches high with no…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1998 Zoning Code requires site plan and architectural review for fences and walls unless they are exempt: forty-two inches or less in a…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1983 Zoning Ordinance allows fences, hedges and walls up to six feet in required rear yards and interior side yards and bars solid ones over…

California Civil Code Section 841, the Good Neighbor Fence Act, presumes adjoining landowners share equal benefit and equal cost responsibility for boundary fences, applying statewide…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the only swimming pools the building code excuses from a permit are prefabricated ones: under the Building Code list, pools accessory to a Group…

Residential pools and non-self-contained spas in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County must be enclosed by a permanent, non-removable barrier at least 60 inches tall before they can be…

The City of Pismo Beach prints two zoning codes under Title 17, and each has its own home occupation rules. The 1983 Zoning Ordinance caps a home occupation at one room or twenty-five…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a small family day care home is permitted within any single-family residence in a residential zone, and a large family day care home needs a…

The City of Pismo Beach, California prints two home occupation rules under Title 17. The 1983 Zoning Ordinance allows three clients or customers at a time, no client visits between…

The City of Pismo Beach, California bans advertising signs at home businesses in both zoning codes printed under Title 17. The 1983 Zoning Ordinance also forbids advertising that…

Government Code section 51035 forbids any California city, county, or city and county from prohibiting a cottage food operation in a residential dwelling. The local agency must pick…

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…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, every single-family household must subscribe to and pay for the city's three-container collection service and sort food and other organic waste…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, green material and landscape and pruning waste count as organic waste under Chapter 8.13 and go in the green container. Multi-family and…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, single-family, multi-family and commercial generators must use the city's three-container service: organics in the green container, recyclables…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, all garbage or refuse must be removed at least once every seven days unless the director of public works directs otherwise, and use of the…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, short-term rental bins go out no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before collection and come in by 8:00 p.m. on collection day, noncomplying…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, garbage and rubbish containers must sit on the premises during collection: within five feet of the rear property line where a through alley…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, areas used for storage or trash collection must sit inside a structure or on the least visible part of the site, behind a solid wall or fence at…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the council sets the curbside recycling program by resolution, and the contract agent supplies containers on request to any residential or…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, dumping construction debris or other hazardous waste material on any public or private place is prohibited by § 8.12.220, and leaving refuse on…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, only tow companies under a one-year contract with the Police Department can take police-requested tows. Contractors must answer within twenty…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a vape or tobacco store that devotes more than fifteen percent of its floor space or at least sixteen cumulative cubic feet of shelf space to…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a junk collector without a fixed place of business pays a license tax of five dollars per day or fifty dollars per year under § 5.04.390, and a…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no one can operate an adult-oriented business without a regulatory permit under Chapter 5.10, and performers need a separate permit. Both zoning…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a business cannot provide massage therapy without a massage establishment permit issued by the police chief and a valid city business license…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, tattooing, permanent makeup, branding and body piercing are allowed only when the shop meets § 5.11.150. A new tattoo establishment must keep…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a pawn shop is any establishment that takes jewelry, valuables, firearms or other property in pledge for loans, or buys articles under an…

The City of Pismo Beach, California excludes auto repair from home occupations in both zoning codes printed under Title 17. The 1983 Zoning Ordinance lists major and minor auto repair…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 8.14.020 bans smoking in open-air dining areas, recreational areas, service areas and public events, with a twenty-five foot…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, cannabis counts as smoking under Municipal Code § 8.14.010, so lighting or vaping it is banned everywhere § 8.14.020 bans smoking, including…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 8.18.010 makes it unlawful to deposit human urine or feces on any public place or on private property without the owner's…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a police services fee can be imposed on the person responsible for a party after an officer has given written notice that it violates the law…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, it is unlawful to consume any alcoholic beverage in a public place or to carry an opened container of wine, beer or other alcohol there. Public…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, skateboards are barred from every public street and from curbs, gutters and sidewalks in commercial and government zones. Motorized skateboards…

In the towns of Avila and Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County bans loitering that annoys pedestrians or blocks free passage on public sidewalks and ways, and separately bans loitering or…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 8.20.020 declares a defective or deteriorated building that is a fire hazard, and an abandoned building left in disrepair and…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a film permit application that includes street closures must be filed a minimum of thirty (30) days before filming, against fourteen (14) days…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, it is unlawful to conduct a filming activity within the city without first obtaining a film permit from the film development office. News…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the community development office can condition a film permit with restrictions on firearms, explosions and other noise-creating or hazardous…

Student filmmakers still need a county film permit to shoot on county property, but Sec. 2.11.053(b) waives the permit fee for anyone who submits a school-letterhead letter confirming…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 8.20.020(C)(1) makes excessive vegetation, dead or diseased trees, weeds or garden waste that are likely to harbor rats or…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, residential air-conditioning or air-handling equipment cannot exceed set sound levels at two measurement points. Units installed on or after…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, sounding or permitting the sounding of a motor vehicle burglar alarm, or an exterior burglar or fire alarm, is a violation unless the alarm is…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, loading, unloading, opening, closing or handling boxes, crates, containers and building materials between ten p.m. and seven a.m. is barred when…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, each person who wants to solicit or peddle must first obtain a business license under Municipal Code § 5.04.020. Five listed groups, including…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, soliciting and peddling are banned from 6:00 p.m. one day to 8:00 a.m. the following day. An owner or occupant can post a nonilluminated flat…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, every person who engages in business must hold a city business license and pay an annual tax. Under § 5.04.170 the default rate is set by gross…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no one can leave personal property on a sidewalk, gutter, alley or street without an encroachment permit. Every merchant permit keeps a minimum…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, anyone who wants to encroach on the public right-of-way must first file a written application with the Public Works Director. The permit carries…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, food cooked on an open fire or bed of coals for sale to the public is a regulated barbecue under Chapter 8.36. On private property the operator…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a medical marijuana dispensary is not permitted anywhere in the city under § 9.06.020, and Chapter 9.07 prohibits outdoor cultivation…

Cannabis dispensaries in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County must clear a 600-foot buffer from schools, parks and treatment facilities. Sec. 22.40.090(D)(1)(a) bars a dispensary from…

Health and Safety Code section 11362.2 grants every adult 21 or older the statewide right to cultivate up to six cannabis plants indoors, and bars local governments from completely…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a sidewalk cafe needs an encroachment permit that the Public Works Director can approve for a maximum of one year. The permit requires a city…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, block parties are named in the code's list of special events, and using city streets for one requires a special event permit issued by the…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, an organized parade, procession or assembly of fifty or more persons that travels in unison on a street outside normal traffic controls is a…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, fairs and festivals are special events, and a vendor is anyone who sells or offers to sell goods, food or beverages within the special event…

Using a San Luis Obispo County park for a fee-based activity, public demonstration, or reserved facility requires an advance permit under Code Sec. 11.04.040, and the parks director…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, each transient pays a transient occupancy tax of eleven percent of the rent charged by the hotel operator under Chapter 3.20. A transient is…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a person who keeps, operates or manages three or more rental units available for rental must pay an annual license fee under § 5.04.180. The fee…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, rent control under Chapter 5.20 covers mobilehome parks where two or more mobilehome sites are rented or held out for rent. Management can raise…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a mobilehome park owner's annual notice of rent increase must state the base rent increase, the new base rent, each capital charge with its…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a mobilehome park owner cannot bring an action to recover possession of a space subject to Chapter 5.20 unless one of four grounds applies: an…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code is adopted and retitled the Property Maintenance Code of the City of Pismo Beach. A structure…

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…

As of July 1, 2024, California landlords may collect no more than one month's rent as a security deposit, regardless of whether the unit is furnished. The deposit, minus any lawful…

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…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, two provisions cap garage sales. Municipal Code § 5.04.500 exempts a resident from a business license only for sales of not more than four days…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, an automatic residential fire sprinkler system must be installed in one- and two-family dwellings under the city's amended California…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, § 15.08.010 lists the work that needs no building permit, including a one-story detached tool or storage shed with a floor area not greater than…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, electrical work follows the 2025 California Electrical Code adopted in Municipal Code § 15.04.010 and amended by § 15.08.060. Annexes are…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, plumbing work is built under the 2025 California Plumbing Code as adopted in Municipal Code § 15.04.010 and modified by § 15.08.050. The city…

Unincorporated San Luis Obispo County sets no maximum floor area for a first single-family or urban dwelling on a residential lot; only a second, additional primary dwelling on the…

San Luis Obispo County requires the building official to examine a site before issuing a permit, and to sign off on a final inspection before the structure may be used. Section…

San Luis Obispo County Code Sec. 22.30.170(B) requires a Conditional Use Permit for any child care center with 13 or more children. Sites must have paved access with on-street parking…

San Luis Obispo County Code Chapter 19.08 layers green-building requirements on top of the state's CALGreen code. New homes over 2,500 square feet and non-residential projects over…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, it is unlawful to be upon or within the pier zone between eleven p.m. and four a.m. The zone covers the city pier, the boardwalk and city-owned…

Minors under 18 can't be out in public countywide from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weeknights, and 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weekends.

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a sidewalk vendor sells only food and merchandise, never services, from a cart no larger than four (4) feet high, wide and long. Carts cannot…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no one can sell from a sidewalk cart without a sidewalk vendor permit from the Administrative Services Department. Until the City Council amends…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, sidewalk vendors are barred from beaches, the City Pier, park pathways, streets and parking lots, and stationary vendors from residential zones…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, it is unlawful to camp overnight or occupy a recreational vehicle overnight in a public park or beach not designated for camping, on any public…

County Code § 7.20.030 bans sitting, lying, or sleeping on sidewalks and other public ways in the Avila Beach and Cayucos areas, with only narrow exceptions.

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no motorized scooter share program can operate within the city. If the city notifies an operator that one of its scooters is parked or left…

San Luis Obispo County enforces a fifty-dollar civil penalty for blocking a bicycle path under Vehicle Code Section 21211, folded into the county's own civil penalty schedule at Code…

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…

The City of Pismo Beach, California prohibits controlled games and card rooms throughout the city under § 5.16.020. Chapter 5.16 defines a card room as any building, structure, portion…

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…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no advertising display can be placed or maintained on property next to a landscaped section of freeway when the display is designed to be viewed…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, temporary holiday displays and signs that decorate rather than advertise need no sign permit, but they must come down within fourteen days after…

Pismo Beach exempts election and ballot-measure signs from the sign permit if they stay at three square feet per sign, unlit, and off private property without written owner consent…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, billboards and other off-site signs are prohibited in both of the city's zoning codes. The code prints no separate digital or electronic…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a window sign cannot cover more than sixty percent of any window, and temporary window signs cannot sit above the ground floor. Signs attached…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, planting a tree in a public place requires a planting application and an encroachment permit from the Director of Public Works. No tree can go…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the protected tree species are the native oaks Quercus agrifolia, Quercus lobata and Quercus chrysolepis, once a trunk measures at least six…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no one can deface, destroy, burn or remove a tree in a public place without an encroachment permit from the director of public works, who has…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, no person can land or operate any aircraft, including small unmanned aircraft systems such as drones, in the beach safety zone, which is the…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Chapter 13.28 bars anything but storm water from the storm drain system, requires a city permit to connect to a public storm drain, and gives…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a project with a grading permit or any other permit likely to create a pollution source must submit an erosion control plan. On a construction…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Chapter 15.44 requires a development permit before any construction or other development in an area of special flood hazard, administered by the…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, Municipal Code § 15.44.170(C) requires the lowest floor of new or substantially improved residential structures in AE, AH and A flood zones to…

Coastal development in unincorporated SLO County is governed by Title 23 (Coastal Zone Land Use Ordinance) and the certified Local Coastal Program. Most development between the sea and…

San Luis Obispo County requires a planning department permit before anyone builds a dock, marina or similar floating structure in county waters. Section 19.20.126 sets the application…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1998 Zoning Code gives a residential project of five or more rental units a density bonus of twenty-five percent when twenty percent of the…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, all new exterior lighting on private property must be shielded or recessed and directed downward and away from adjoining properties and public…

County code bars outdoor lighting from being aimed at neighboring dwellings or public streets and separately prohibits glare intense enough to bother neighboring properties, giving…

San Luis Obispo County does not regulate billboard lighting because it bans the structures themselves. Land Use Ordinance Sec. 22.20.040(C)(6) prohibits any permanent billboard…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, a small residential rooftop solar system of no more than 10 kilowatts alternating current or 30 kilowatts thermal gets an administrative…

San Luis Obispo County runs a mandatory expedited, nondiscretionary review for small residential rooftop solar systems under 10 kW, with standard checklists and one inspection.

California Civil Code section 714 makes any HOA covenant, deed restriction, or governing document provision that effectively prohibits or restricts a solar energy system void and…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1983 Zoning Ordinance caps structures in the A-E, R-1, R-2 and M-H zones at twenty-five feet above the center of the building footprint…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1983 Zoning Ordinance sets a front yard of not less than twenty feet in the A-E, R-1 and R-2 zones, a corner-lot street side yard of twenty…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1983 Zoning Ordinance caps total lot coverage for all structures at ten percent in the A-E zone, fifty-five percent in R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4…

In the City of Pismo Beach, California, the 1983 Zoning Ordinance printed under Title 17 creates an Agricultural Exclusive (A-E) zone for rural areas where agriculture is the desirable…

Under County Code Section 5.16.030, an agricultural operation run for commercial purposes and consistent with accepted local farming customs cannot become a public or private nuisance…

County building officials cannot condition a rooftop solar permit on HOA approval, overriding any association solar restriction.

California HOAs may levy regular and special assessments, charge late fees and interest, record liens, and ultimately foreclose on delinquent owners under the Davis-Stirling Act. State…

California's Davis-Stirling Act gives every HOA member the right to inspect and copy association records under Civil Code § 5205. Boards must produce current-year records within 10…

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…

San Luis Obispo County protects archeological and historic sites through the Historic Site (H) combining designation in Section 22.14.080, which requires a discretionary Minor Use…

San Luis Obispo County's landscape ordinance requires new dual-distribution recycled water, or greywater, irrigation systems once state law, a local ordinance, or Board-approved local…

Section 8.69.040 of the County Code requires every hose, faucet, pipe and other indoor plumbing fixture in San Luis Obispo County to be regularly inspected and maintained, with any…

San Luis Obispo County has no data-center-specific ordinance. A data center is treated as an industrial use in the Industrial land use category, needing a discretionary Minor Use…

San Luis Obispo County's General Plan Noise Element, Table 3-2, caps stationary-source noise at a home's property line at 50 dB hourly Leq daytime and 45 dB nighttime, with 70/65 dB…

California sets a statewide minimum wage floor under Labor Code 1182.12, $16.90 per hour for all employers as of January 2026. Local governments are not preempted and may set higher…

California's Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act under Labor Code 245-249 mandates paid sick leave for nearly all employees statewide. SB 616 (2023) raised the minimum to 40 hours…

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 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 Public Resources Code 42270-42273, enacted by AB 1884 (2018), prohibits full-service restaurants from providing single-use plastic straws unless requested by the customer…

California prohibits sale of tobacco and vapor products to anyone under 21 statewide under Business and Professions Code 22958, enacted by SBX2-7 in 2016. The Tobacco 21 standard…

California bans retail sale of most flavored tobacco products statewide under Health and Safety Code 104559.5, enacted by SB 793 (2020) and upheld by voters via Proposition 31 in…

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…