San Rafael, CA

San Rafael allows a small family day care home caring for up to 8 children by right in every residential zone; caring for 9 to 14 children needs only an administrative permit, no…

A San Rafael home occupation may display only one nameplate, capped at one square foot, non-illuminated, and attached flat to the house or shown through a window. The one-nameplate…

A San Rafael home occupation can serve only one client at a time on-site, with appointments spaced to avoid waiting clients. The business may add no more than one extra vehicle's worth…

San Rafael grants residents a vested right to run a qualifying home occupation without a separate zoning permit, as long as the business meets every standard in the city's home…

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…

San Rafael bans LP-gas storage citywide except in designated industrial and commercial zoning districts, caps volumes at 1,000 to 1,500 gallons per site, and prohibits residential…

San Rafael has its own mapped Wildland-Urban Interface, adopted in 2007 under SRMC §4.12.010, designating a very high fire severity zone under Government Code §51179 that triggered…

San Rafael's Fire Code bans recreational fires on city property and in Wildland-Urban Interface areas; elsewhere, backyard fires must stay 25 feet from structures with an attendant and…

San Rafael bans the manufacture, storage, sale, possession, handling or use of any fireworks, including state-legal 'safe and sane' fireworks, within city limits, absent a Fire…

San Rafael's Residential Code amendment requires homeowners to test and maintain smoke alarms per manufacturer instructions and replace any hardwired or interconnected alarm with one…

San Rafael requires every property with a structure in its Wildland-Urban Interface, and any adjacent parcel, to maintain 100 feet of defensible space under San Rafael Municipal Code §…

Open burning (debris piles, vegetation) is prohibited in unincorporated Marin County from May 1 to October 31. Outside that window, residents need a LE5 California Inter-Agency Burn…

San Rafael exempts backyard beekeeping from the administrative use permit the city otherwise requires for keeping mammals, birds, and reptiles on residential property.

San Rafael does not order every pet owner to spay or neuter an animal. Under Municipal Code Section 14.17.020, keeping animals beyond the code's exempt numbers, more than three dogs…

San Rafael requires a city permit before keeping chickens, ducks, rabbits, cows, goats, sheep or other farm animals, besides cats and dogs, on any property within city limits, under…

San Rafael requires a zoning administrator use permit for any animal care facility, including veterinary clinics, citywide, with mandatory findings on noise, waste handling and…

San Rafael Municipal Code § 19.20.070.C.4 bars anyone from abandoning, hunting, capturing, harming, or feeding any animal in a city park or building. The clause is broader than the…

San Rafael has no citywide microchipping mandate. Keeping animals beyond the numbers exempted in Municipal Code Section 14.17.020(B), more than three dogs, ten cats, or four hens per…

San Rafael's wildfire vegetation-clearing rules step aside where compliance would destroy a bird nest, egg or active raptor nest protected under state Fish and Game Code. SRMC…

San Rafael requires every dog off its owner's property to be secured on a leash of reasonable length under SRMC §6.10.030; violations are an infraction, and Marin County's adopted…

San Rafael exempts up to 3 dogs and 10 cats per dwelling unit, plus 4 hens and 3 potbellied pigs, from its animal-keeping permit requirement. Keep more than these thresholds and an…

San Rafael requires an administrative use permit and individual case review for any animal not on its short exempt list, including wild or exotic species, before it may be kept.

Any grooming business operating in unincorporated Marin County is a "commercial animal establishment" under the county code and cannot open without a permit from the county's animal…

Marin County requires every cat to be vaccinated against rabies, whether owned by a household or a colony caretaker, under Section 8.04.040(b) of the county code. Unlike dogs, cats…

Marin County has no breed-specific ban. California Food and Agricultural Code § 31683 preempts local breed-based bans, although mandatory spay/neuter ordinances by breed are permitted…

San Rafael must act on a complete accessory dwelling unit application within 60 days under city code, with no discretionary hearing required: only an applicant-requested delay pauses…

San Rafael bars selling an ADU separately from the main house, and requires a 30-day minimum rental term for ADUs built under the city's streamlined, standards-light approval pathway.

San Rafael does not require replacement parking when a garage, carport or covered parking structure is demolished or converted to build an accessory dwelling unit. The waiver comes…

San Rafael requires owner-occupancy of the single-family home whenever a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) is added, though the owner may live in either the main house or the new…

Unlike sheds and other small accessory structures, San Rafael carports and garages must meet the full front, side and rear setbacks of the underlying zoning district, and carports need…

San Rafael Municipal Code Chapter 8.13 sets daytime and nighttime decibel limits enforced under §8.13.040. Daytime is 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; nighttime is 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. In…

San Rafael caps sound-generating devices used for indoor or outdoor performances and special events at 80 dBA measured 50 feet from the property line, and bars amplified sound between…

San Rafael's noise ordinance exempts aviation, railroad, and public transit operations from its dBA limits and curfews, so helicopter flights are not restricted under the city's…

San Rafael limits leaf blower operation to set daily hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on residential weekdays, narrower weekend hours, and slightly longer windows for non-residential property…

San Rafael limits construction noise to 7 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, capped at 90 dBA beyond the property line, and bars all construction noise on Sundays and…

Marin County treats a dog, cat or other animal that habitually barks, yelps or howls loudly enough to "unreasonably disturb the peace" as a code violation under Section 8.04.179…

San Rafael treats any abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle on private or public property as a public nuisance under state Vehicle Code authority, and the code…

San Rafael's traffic engineer paints curbs red, yellow, white, green, or blue to mark no-parking, loading, and disabled-parking zones, each with its own legal meaning under the traffic…

In San Rafael's Hillside Development Overlay District, driveways and vehicle maneuvering areas must be all-weather pavement or permeable hardscape: city code bars leaving dirt, gravel…

New or substantially renovated San Rafael parking facilities with 25 or more spaces, including multifamily developments, must install capped electrical conduit for future EV charging…

San Rafael prohibits leaving any vehicle parked on a city street or alley for more than 72 consecutive hours, and separately bars parking in a private driveway without the owner's…

San Rafael lets homeowners park RVs, trailers and boats on residential property in Marin County, but only in set spots, driveways, screened side or rear yards, under Zoning Code §…

San Rafael's traffic engineer marks yellow loading zones and white passenger zones on business-district curbs, capping each block's reserved curb at half its length, under SRMC §…

San Rafael bars parking any vehicle on a city street for more than three hours between 12:01 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. under Municipal Code § 5.40.210. The rule applies citywide, is a…

San Rafael bars parking commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds, trailers, or oversized vehicles longer than one hour on residential streets, unless the owner gets a discretionary…

Marin County runs two permit-based preferential parking programs on unincorporated roads: the Muir Woods Road Preferential Parking Corridor and the Bolinas Residential Parking Program…

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…

Within the wetland setback of San Rafael's Wetland Overlay District, landscaping and vegetation must be native plant species indigenous to the area, chosen to protect habitat for…

San Rafael Municipal Code Section 9.12.040 bars any owner, agent or lessee with control of a lot in the city from letting weeds, mustard, thistles, indigenous grasses, poison oak or…

San Rafael places the duty to trim sidewalk trees and hedges directly on the adjoining property owner or occupant, not the city, so growth does not block pedestrians. If an owner…

New subdivisions in San Rafael must plant street trees on every new public or private street to city and public works specifications under SRMC §15.06.100: a subdivision-improvement…

Marin County Code § 7.04.050 exempts homeowners from the county's dump-permit law when they pile up their own garden, tree, shrub and lawn trimmings on their own property to make…

Unincorporated Marin's Development Code lists rainwater cisterns and collectors, alongside solar collectors and storage sheds, as an allowed residential accessory use. A free-standing…

In unincorporated Marin County served by Marin Municipal Water District (Marin Water), Ordinance 459 prohibits using district water to irrigate new ornamental lawn in…

Since SB 676 took effect in 2024, Government Code 53087.7 protects only drought-tolerant living landscaping from local bans, so cities may again prohibit artificial turf. Civil Code…

San Rafael Municipal Code Section 12.105.010 requires a building permit before anyone constructs, enlarges or alters a structure in the city, and a residential pool counts. Section…

San Rafael requires every private swimming pool to be enclosed by a barrier meeting state Health and Safety Code standards, adopted locally through the International Swimming Pool and…

San Rafael lets homeowners build a 4-foot fence in front and street-side yards and a 7-foot fence in rear and interior side yards without a building permit. A building permit is…

San Rafael bans concertina wire, razor wire, broken glass and electrified fences in every district, and bars barbed wire wherever it would abut a residential use. Chain link and wire…

San Rafael caps residential fences at four feet in front and street-side yards but allows up to seven feet in rear and interior side yards for privacy, with a further increase to nine…

San Rafael caps retaining walls at four feet in required rear and interior side yards; taller retaining walls on hillside parcels with 25%+ slope need environmental and design review…

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…

Chapter 10.110 of the SRMC, added by Ordinance 1976, requires every short-term rental in San Rafael to be registered annually with the City. The initial registration fee is $170 and…

STR listings must include the notice that quiet hours are observed between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. and that no outdoor amplified sound is allowed at any time. This is stricter than the…

Marin County requires short-term rental owners to notify occupants of neighboring properties before obtaining or renewing a business license. The 2024 ordinance also limits new…

Marin County splits short-term rentals into 'hosted' units, the primary residence of the owner or a designated host, and 'unhosted' units with no resident overseeing them. Under Code…

Every short-term rental in unincorporated Marin County must provide off-street parking that meets the county's general zoning standards. Section 5.41.060(4) ties STR parking directly…

Anyone renting out a room, cottage or whole house to guests for less than 30 days in unincorporated Marin County must collect a 10 percent transient occupancy tax on the rent and remit…

Marin County will not renew a short-term rental license once code enforcement has verified more than three substantial violations of the chapter or the license terms during a single…

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…

San Rafael requires landlords to keep habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms at least 68°F during the heating season, amending the base Property Maintenance Code's heat-supply…

San Rafael does not cap rent increases for conventional housing but requires mandatory mediation whenever a landlord raises rent more than 5 percent in 12 months.

San Rafael landlords must give tenants a notice of mediation rights whenever they issue a lease, a lease renewal, or a rent increase notice.

San Rafael landlords of covered rental properties cannot terminate a tenancy without a licensed, code-compliant 'for cause' or 'no fault' reason under Chapter 10.105.

Landlords of qualifying multifamily rentals in unincorporated Marin County must register every dwelling unit each year by January 1 under Chapter 5.100's just-cause eviction rules…

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…

San Rafael's municipal code broadly bans placing, keeping or maintaining any obstruction on a public sidewalk under §8.12.110: a general provision the city can apply against blocked…

San Rafael bans camping outright in parks, parking garages, public facilities, near playgrounds and schools, and on sidewalks and rights-of-way, and imposes strict size, setback, and…

Anyone who wants to place a structure, landscaping, a debris box, scaffolding or any other private improvement in a San Rafael public street or sidewalk needs an encroachment permit…

In San Rafael, the owner of any lot adjacent to or fronting a sidewalk must repair and maintain it at the owner's own cost, regardless of whether the city has given notice or made past…

Marin County Code section 24.04.500 bars poles, grates, covers, fire hydrants and other obstructions from being built within a sidewalk in the unincorporated area. Utility boxes and…

San Rafael designates buildings, sites, and historic districts as landmarks under Municipal Code Chapter 2.18, requiring a certificate of appropriateness before exterior alteration…

San Rafael charges a 10% transient occupancy tax on hotel and short-term rental rent, collected by the operator from every guest staying 30 days or less.

San Rafael requires class 2 electric bicycle riders to be at least 16 years old and wear a helmet meeting state standards, under a local program authorized by California Vehicle Code…

In unincorporated Marin County, County Code Section 13.24.020 requires every bicycle, electric bicycle, and motorized bicycle rider to follow every California Vehicle Code rule for…

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…

San Rafael caps noncommercial political and election signs at 32 square feet per site, 90 days display per year, with removal required within 10 days after the election: no permit…

San Rafael bans electronic message and animated signs citywide, including digital billboards, with narrow exceptions for time-temperature displays and city-installed multilingual…

San Rafael caps window signage at 25% of a framed or continuous window's area, measuring multi-pane windows as a single whole; permanent window signs also count toward the business's…

San Rafael allows up to two garage or yard sale signs, each 10 square feet or smaller, without a sign permit, but only for seven days before and four days after the sale, and never on…

San Rafael allows larger freestanding signs, up to 72 square feet and 21 feet tall (25 feet with a setback bonus), for businesses fronting the Highway 101/I-580 frontage roads.

Unincorporated Marin County exempts temporary, non-commercial holiday and religious decorations from the Sign Permit, Sign Review, and Master Sign Program requirements that apply to…

San Rafael requires an event permit from the police department for any parade, march or assembly on a city street, sidewalk or right-of-way that would impede traffic or bypass normal…

San Rafael, California, in Marin County requires an event permit from the police department before any assembly, including a neighborhood block party, closes off or occupies a public…

San Rafael bars restaurants from using city sidewalks or rights-of-way for outdoor seating without a license agreement with the city, requiring $1 million liability insurance and a…

San Rafael calls its parklets "streetaries": outdoor eating areas built inside on-street parking spaces next to a restaurant. Chapter 11.70 requires an annual streetary encroachment…

San Rafael requires a city manager permit for exclusive use of any park or building, or for any gathering of 25 or more people, before the event can take place.

Marin County requires anyone holding a circus, carnival, festival, concert, or similar amusement event in the unincorporated area to secure a license under Chapter 5.12 at least…

San Rafael caps portable and stationary backup generators at 69 dBA measured at seven meters under SRMC §8.13.020, and exempts emergency or power-outage use entirely, but routine…

Marin County Code § 6.70.030(1) makes it unlawful to sound a car horn or other vehicle signaling device except as a danger warning, to make it produce an unreasonably loud or harsh…

San Rafael routes oversize items like furniture and appliances to debris box service since they're too large for normal cart collection, and lets outside companies provide that service.

San Rafael requires solid waste pickup at least once a week for every home and business, with the day set by the city's authorized collector and approved by the city.

San Rafael limits outdoor storage containers and debris boxes: they're barred from residential zoning districts except for a temporary stay of up to 90 days, and outdoor storage on…

Dumping, burying, or abandoning solid waste on private property, streets, parks, or waterways in San Rafael is banned outright, punishable by escalating fines up to $500 and…

San Rafael caps how long a trash, recycling, or organics cart can sit at the curb: only during a 48-hour window bracketing pickup day, and never blocking a sidewalk or street gutter.

San Rafael requires every generator to source-separate recyclables into a recycling container and keep them out of the garbage container, under Chapter 9.19.

San Rafael requires landscape and pruning waste to go in the green organics cart, not the garbage cart, under Municipal Code Chapter 9.19. Every dwelling unit must carry at least one…

Marin County Code § 7.00.060(C) requires every residential generator to sort food waste and other organics into the organics cart, recyclables into the recycling cart, and garbage into…

Marin County Code § 7.00.060 requires every residential household in the unincorporated area to subscribe to the county's organic waste collection service and sort food scraps and yard…

Marin County Code § 7.00.060 requires every residential generator in the unincorporated county to subscribe to the county's organic waste collection service and to size garbage…

New and substantially improved buildings in San Rafael's mapped flood zones must elevate the lowest floor at least one foot above the base flood elevation, plus predicted 30-year…

Building or placing a pier, dock, wall, bulkhead or breakwater on San Rafael's tidelands requires a City tidelands permit from the Department of Public Works before construction…

San Rafael bans any non-stormwater discharge into its storm drain system under the Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Ordinance, Chapter 9.30. Violations are a public nuisance and a…

San Rafael caps graded slopes at 2:1 and retaining walls at 8 feet for new subdivisions, and requires an erosion control plan and city engineer sign-off on drainage.

San Rafael requires a floodplain development permit before any construction begins within FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas, covering the Canal district and other low-lying…

Marin County caps construction-equipment idling at five minutes on projects that trigger environmental review. Section 22.20.040(C)(6) of the Development Code tells contractors to shut…

Marin County's coastal areas are regulated by the Local Coastal Program (LCP) Implementation Plan, codified in Title 20 of the Marin County Code. Development within the Coastal Zone…

San Rafael can order owners of unsafe, fire-hazard, or unsecured vacant buildings to repair or demolish them, backed by misdemeanor prosecution for noncompliance.

San Rafael prohibits leaving debris, wreckage, or rodent-attracting waste on any lot in the city, whether occupied or vacant, and bans dumping trash on any premises.

San Rafael's business license tax sorts businesses into rate schedules, retail/wholesale/service, professional/semiprofessional services, and flat-rate categories like contractors and…

San Rafael requires a police-issued permit for peddlers and itinerant merchants who sell from the street, a vehicle, or a fixed location, but door-to-door peddling and soliciting is…

San Rafael bars peddlers and solicitors from knocking or ringing the bell where a "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors," or "No Agents" sign is posted, and separately limits all door-to-door…

San Rafael enforces the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code exactly as the state wrote it: the city has adopted no local green-building amendments.

Anyone installing, altering, or replacing a plumbing system in San Rafael must first apply to the building official and obtain a permit before starting work, with narrow exemptions for…

San Rafael's Residential Code amendment requires automatic fire sprinklers in every newly built one- and two-family home and townhouse, and in existing ones undergoing a 'substantial…

San Rafael requires a permit from the building official before any wiring, service, or fixed electrical equipment install regulated by the code, and adopts the 2025 California…

San Rafael's building official inspects permitted construction at fourteen defined stages, from footing and foundation through final inspection, under Chapter 12.110. Owners must keep…

San Rafael, California, in Marin County classifies scaffolding placed over a public sidewalk or street as a temporary encroachment, so contractors need a minor encroachment permit from…

In San Rafael, Marin County, California, small, low, detached decks up to 200 square feet and 30 inches high, and patios up to 30 inches above grade, are exempt from a building permit.

Marin County Code § 19.14.020(3) requires State Fire Marshal-compliant carbon monoxide alarms in every existing dwelling unit that has a fuel-fired appliance, a fireplace, or an…

Marin County child day-care centers in unincorporated areas must clear a Use Permit and meet building-safety standards written specifically for children on site. Marin County Code of…

In the Tamalpais Community Plan Area of unincorporated Marin, Development Code Section 22.30.060 caps the maximum adjusted Floor Area Ratio at 30 percent of lot area for new homes on…

San Rafael caps single-family homes at 30 feet in every R district, R2a, R1a, R20, R10, R7.5 and R5, under Table 14.04.030, with a lower 17-foot peak allowed only in the -EA…

San Rafael limits how much of a residential lot can be covered by buildings, from 20% in the largest-lot R2a district up to 40% in R10, R7.5 and R5, under Table 14.04.030, with…

San Rafael's single-family residential zones set separate front, side and rear yard minimums under Table 14.04.030: front yards run 15 to 20 feet, side yards from 6 feet up to 15% of…

San Rafael, California, in Marin County has no dedicated film-permit ordinance; instead it treats any private closure of a public street, including for filming, as a temporary…

Marin County still requires the Chapter 5.36 commercial filming permit for student or educational productions, but Section 5.36.030 lets the board of supervisors waive all or part of…

Marin County requires a permit from the responsible department director before commercial motion-picture or television filming on county property, aside from filming solely inside the…

San Rafael must issue a building permit for small rooftop solar systems the same day or next day over the counter, or within three business days for electronic applications, under its…

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…

San Rafael grants a density bonus plus extra development-standard concessions to residential projects of five or more units that include affordable housing, following state Government…

Every San Rafael apartment building and hotel gets a code enforcement inspection at least once every five years, whether or not a tenant has complained.

San Rafael tenants can trigger a rental inspection any time by filing a code violation complaint: the city doesn't have to wait for the five-year cycle.

San Rafael caps new outdoor lighting at roughly one foot-candle at doorways, tapering to under one foot-candle at the property line, and requires fixtures to be shielded from spilling…

Marin County's Development Code requires exterior lighting on any project that goes through Master Plan, Design Review, or Site Plan Review to stay low-wattage, point downward, and be…

San Rafael's home occupation rules flatly bar running an auto repair business, minor or major, out of a residence, even though many other home-based trades are allowed under the same…

San Rafael requires a city license before anyone opens a pawnshop or secondhand-goods business, and Chapter 10.20 of the municipal code layers on strict recordkeeping. Every pawned or…

Any company towing vehicles from public or private property in San Rafael, including reserved customer parking lots, needs a tow car operator's permit from the police chief before it…

No massage establishment can open in San Rafael without a city-issued certified massage establishment certificate or an operator permit, and every practitioner working there must hold…

San Rafael restricts 'significant' tobacco retailers, stores devoting 20%+ of floor space to tobacco, to a conditional use permit in GC, C/O and FBWC districts, bars them from NC, O…

San Rafael requires secondhand dealers to obtain a city license and log every item bought, pawned, or exchanged in a bound record book that police can inspect on demand.

Unincorporated Marin County treats adult entertainment establishments as a discretionary land use in most commercial districts. Table 2-6 of the Development Code, tied to Section…

Tattooing, body piercing, and permanent cosmetics in unincorporated Marin County require annual practitioner registration plus a separate annual health permit for the facility, issued…

Operating a drone in any San Rafael park or building is prohibited unless it's within an area specifically designated for that use or the operator has written permission from the city…

San Rafael's Clean Indoor and Outdoor Air ordinance bans smoking in nearly all unenclosed public spaces: parks, plazas, dining patios, service areas, apartment common areas, and every…

San Rafael bars pedestrians from crossing anywhere but a marked crosswalk within any business district, and everywhere else requires crossing at right angles to the curb unless a…

San Rafael bars lingering or loitering on any street median narrower than four feet for more than a few minutes, citing pedestrian safety on medians not built for prolonged use.

San Rafael bans skateboarding, roller skating, bicycling and e-mobility devices on sidewalks and streets wherever the city posts prohibition signs, and separately bars riding any of…

San Rafael bans consuming alcohol or holding an open container anywhere on city-owned or controlled public property, parks, streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and civic buildings…

San Rafael's Social Host Ordinance makes it unlawful for a property owner, tenant, or host to knowingly allow an "unruly gathering" where underage persons consume alcohol or drugs…

Marin County Open Space District Code section 02.02.110 bars urinating or defecating within fifty feet of any entrance to district lands, within one hundred feet of any water source…

San Rafael Municipal Code § 19.20.070.B closes every city park and building between sunset and sunrise. Outside four listed exceptions, no one may enter, remain in, cross, or use any…

San Rafael bans anyone under 18 from public streets, parks or squares between 11 p.m. and daylight under SRMC §8.08.010, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian; violating minors…

San Rafael requires every food establishment to hold a valid operating certificate from the Marin County health officer, posted prominently on-site. Operating without one is a…

San Rafael Municipal Code bars property owners from letting debris, trash or abandoned material sit on their lot in a way that attracts or breeds rodents, rats or mice.

Every food facility in unincorporated Marin County must post a color-coded compliance placard from Environmental Health Services within five feet of the front door after each routine…

San Rafael prohibits cannabis dispensaries, cultivation and processing anywhere in the city. The only commercial cannabis activity the city licenses is cannabis testing labs…

Marin County limits medicinal cannabis delivery-only retailers to five specific zoning districts and keeps them 600 feet from every school, day care center, youth center, and…

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…

San Rafael bars stationary mobile food vending from every residential zoning district (R, DR, MR and HR) and from the Downtown Precise Plan area, confining stationary carts to…

San Rafael's mobile-vending ordinance sets food-specific sidewalk rules: hand sanitizer must be available to customers, and roaming vending in residential areas is barred between 8…

Marin County Code § 7.24.030 makes it unlawful to operate any food establishment, including a mobile food facility, in the unincorporated county without a permit from the county health…

San Rafael's municipal code defines "public nuisance" through a specific catalog of property conditions, broken windows, garbage cans left in yards, debris, and abandoned vehicles…

San Rafael bans the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol, mint, fruit, and candy flavors, city-wide, with marketing claims treated as evidence of a violation.

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…

San Rafael exempts garage and yard sales on private property entirely from its peddler, solicitor, and itinerant merchant permit chapter, so no city permit is required to hold one.

Portable barbecues and camp stoves are barred everywhere in Marin County parks except spots the Department of Parks and Open Space designates. Section 10.08.010 limits open flame to…

Marin County Code of Ordinances § 23.18.073(D) lets property owners irrigate with recycled water, but any holding pond built for it may not discharge except during a twenty-five-year…

Marin County Code of Ordinances § 23.18.073 requires every property owner in an urbanized unincorporated area to detect and repair leaks in an irrigation system within seventy-two…

Marin County Code Chapter 23.03 shields established commercial farms from nuisance lawsuits over noise, odor, dust, and machinery, and requires the county to disclose that risk to…

Unincorporated Marin County protects farmland through eight A (Agriculture and Conservation) districts, an A2 (Agriculture, Limited) district, and the ARP planned district, each…

Marin County has no data center ordinance, and its unincorporated land is overwhelmingly residential, agricultural, and open space with very little industrial zoning. A data center is…

Marin County caps new stationary-source noise at 50 dBA Leq daytime and 45 dBA Leq at night, measured at the property line of the affected home. A data center's cooling and generators…

Marin County's Development Code expressly refuses to police private Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions (CC&Rs) in unincorporated neighborhoods. Under Section 22.02.020.F.2, the…

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…

Marin's Development Code protects specific native tree species once they reach a set trunk diameter, defined in Section 22.130.030 as 'Protected Tree and Heritage Tree.' Coast live…

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

Marin County Code Section 6.60.010 makes it unlawful to knowingly let 13 named noxious weeds, including Canada thistle, Russian knapweed, and puncture vine, grow on land you own…

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…

California's Gambling Control Act bars any city or county from issuing a gambling license to a cardroom unless a local ordinance authorizes it first: one adopted by voters after…

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…

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 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…