Santa Maria, CA

Removing, cutting down or destroying any tree in a City parkway, easement, right-of-way or other public property requires a Director of Recreation and Parks permit under Municipal Code…

Santa Maria does not regulate backyard composting or require a permit for a home compost bin. Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-21.04(a) lets single-family households manage their…

Santa Maria's water-efficient landscape ordinance lets smaller projects skip formal water-use calculations entirely if they meet their landscape water needs with stored rainwater…

Santa Maria's landscape design standards require water-conserving plant material sited for each property's actual conditions, and specifically direct that protection and preservation…

Santa Maria's Municipal Code doesn't ban artificial turf outright, but its zoning definition of 'landscaping' specifically excludes it. Section 12-2.80 defines landscaping as trees…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-10.33 prohibits runoff irrigation, hosing of driveways and sidewalks, washing vehicles with an un-nozzled hose, and operating non-recirculating…

Chapter 5-8 of the Santa Maria Municipal Code authorizes the City to declare overgrown weeds, vines, shrubs, brush, and hazardous debris on private property to be a public nuisance…

Under Santa Maria Municipal Code Chapter 8-8 (Urban Forestry), a permit from the Director of Recreation and Parks is required before anyone may spray, prune, trim, fertilize, plant…

Santa Maria bans letting any dog run at large on sidewalks, streets or other public places, or on private property without the owner's permission. Section 5-3.201 lets dogs onto public…

Santa Maria does not require every pet to carry a microchip, but a dog declared restricted or vicious after an administrative hearing must be microchipped, licensed, spayed or neutered…

Santa Maria's animal shelter must verify whether an unclaimed stray cat is feral or tame using a standardized temperament protocol before deciding its fate. Under Section 5-3.508(d), a…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Chapter 5-3, Article 8 (Livestock) bans hogs, swine, stallions, and bulls inside the city limits and requires horses, mules, cattle, sheep, and goats to be…

Santa Maria does not cap the number of dogs at a residence by simple ordinance, but Municipal Code Section 12-2.78 defines any property with four or more dogs as a 'kennel,' which is a…

Santa Maria prohibits keeping any bear or non-domesticated feline within city limits under Municipal Code Section 5-3.1002, allowing only licensed zoos, circuses, public-agency zoos…

Santa Maria bans commercial beekeeping outright but allows noncommercial hobby hives under Article 7 of the animal code. Section 5-3.703 caps lot density at four hives on lots under…

Veterinary clinics are not permitted outright in Santa Maria's C-2 General Commercial District. Section 12-13.04 lists them among the conditional uses that require a discretionary…

Santa Maria doesn't order every pet fixed by force, but Section 5-3.301(a)(3) requires every dog or cat over four months old to carry an Unaltered Animal License, which needs a…

Santa Maria has no breed-specific ban. Pit bulls, Rottweilers, and other breeds are legal to own. California Food and Agricultural Code Section 31683 preempts breed-specific dog…

Grooming shops in unincorporated Santa Barbara County cannot open without a county grooming shop permit, renewed every January 1. Animal Services will only issue one after confirming…

Sec. 26-26 makes it unlawful to injure, take, kill or molest any bird, or disturb its habitat, within a Santa Barbara County park, beach, trail or other recreation area in the…

Santa Barbara County does not require a permit to nurse sick or injured wildlife back to health. LUDC Sec. 35.42.060(F)(5) allows wildlife species rehabilitation by right in every zone…

California law makes it illegal to knowingly feed big game mammals, deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, black bear, and Nelson bighorn sheep, anywhere in the state. The California…

Santa Maria's Mechanical Code amendment requires an independent special inspection whenever smoke detectors are installed as part of a smoke damper or HVAC shutoff system. The rule…

Santa Maria sits in the relatively flat Santa Maria Valley, largely outside CAL FIRE's high or very-high Fire Hazard Severity Zones, so the 100-foot defensible-space clearance under…

Backyard burning of leaves, weeds, grass clippings, shrubbery, and tree prunings is prohibited in Santa Maria by Santa Barbara County APCD. The only routine backyard fires allowed are…

Santa Maria is one of the few California cities where State Fire Marshal-approved 'Safe and Sane' fireworks are legal. Residents may discharge them only on July 4 between 11:00 a.m…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Chapter 9-28 amends California Fire Code Section 307.1 to prohibit open burning within city limits, except for recreational fires (CFC 307.4.2), portable…

A residential or agricultural propane tank does not need a zoning permit under Development Code Sec. 35.20.040.B.18, but installing or operating one still requires a Fire Department…

Much of unincorporated Santa Barbara County lies in CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones rated Moderate, High, or Very High. CAL FIRE released updated Local Responsibility Area maps on…

Painting a house number on a Santa Maria curb takes the property owner's or occupant's prior written consent, and the contractor doing the work must be identified by name, address…

Santa Maria requires nonresidential buildings over 25,000 square feet to build dedicated off-street loading spaces, sized 12 feet wide and 30 feet long with 14 feet of overhead…

Santa Maria Section 7-5.18 prohibits any CVC-defined vehicle, including a bus, from parking in residential districts between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. for more than 30 minutes. Section…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Chapter 5-1 declares any wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle stored in public view on private or public property a public nuisance. Police and code…

Santa Maria uses an expedited, streamlined permit process for home and business electric vehicle charging stations under Municipal Code Chapter 9-56, matching state law AB 2136. The…

Santa Maria has no city-wide overnight curfew on ordinary cars parked on residential streets. The 72-hour rule applies to all vehicles, and Section 7-5.18 imposes an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Title 7, Chapter 7-5 prohibits parking any vehicle in one location on any street, alley, or City-owned property (including City parks and parking structures)…

Santa Maria's 72-hour limit and Section 7-5.17 (Long Vehicles) restrict RV, boat, and trailer parking on streets, while Section 12-32.27 prohibits parking any vehicle in the front yard…

In identified unincorporated residential areas facing chronic nonresident parking congestion, the board of supervisors may create a permit parking district by resolution under County…

In residential zones, a driveway inside the required front setback can't exceed 50 percent of that lot's street frontage, though a 10-foot-wide driveway is always allowed regardless…

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…

A junior accessory dwelling unit in Santa Maria requires owner occupancy: either the primary house or the JADU itself must be the property owner's permanent residence under SMMC…

Santa Maria sets no owner-occupancy or short-term-rental ban on ADUs and JADUs, but SMMC Section 12-56.05(1)(f) bars rentals shorter than 30 days: "Rental of the ADU or JADU is allowed…

Santa Maria waives development impact fees entirely for any ADU under 750 square feet under SMMC Section 12-56.05(1)(k). Larger ADUs still owe impact fees, but only charged…

Santa Maria permits one ADU and one JADU per single-family lot ministerially within 60 days; detached ADUs may be up to 1,200 sq ft with 4-foot side/rear setbacks, and parking is…

Detached tool and storage sheds up to 120 square feet, 8 feet tall, and at least 5 feet from any other building are exempt from building permits but must sit behind the front wall of…

When a garage is converted to an ADU in Santa Maria, no replacement off-street parking is required, but converting a garage to a JADU or to other non-ADU living space requires onsite…

Santa Maria Chapter 12-29B implements California's Cottage Food Law (Homemade Food Act) with extra zoning rules: operations limited to the registered/permitted kitchen and adjoining…

Santa Maria treats large family day care homes as a permitted use on any single-family residential property, no conditional use permit required, but Chapter 12-29A layers real…

Santa Maria's home occupation ordinance bans customers, clients, patients, suppliers, and employees from visiting the residence in connection with any home-based business. The only…

Home occupations are permitted in Santa Maria's residential districts (R-1, RA, RSL-1, R-2, etc.) but only as a use 'clearly incidental' to the dwelling - no customers on site, no…

Santa Maria flatly prohibits any signs for home occupations and forbids advertising that uses the home address - the only exception is a listing in the telephone directory.

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…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Chapter 5-5 sets ambient base noise levels that drop at night in residential zones, with a violation found when the level exceeds the standard for set…

Aircraft noise is federally preempted by the FAA; Santa Maria Public Airport District runs a voluntary noise advisory program using California's 65 dB CNEL significance threshold and…

Barking dogs in Santa Maria are treated as 'unmeasurable nuisance noise' under Chapter 5-5 and as a Good Neighbor Rules issue under Chapter 4-7, with persistent barking handled by…

Sound-amplifying equipment is regulated in residential zones under Chapter 5-5, and Chapter 6-6 (Party Disturbances) makes hosting a party with sound 'plainly audible' at 50 feet or…

Santa Maria limits residential-zone construction noise under Chapter 5-5, with a construction-noise permit required from the Noise Control Officer when work exceeds the Chapter 5-5…

Driving a motor vehicle on unimproved land in unincorporated Santa Barbara County without the landowner's permission is banned outright under County Code Sec. 24-29, a rule the board…

Santa Maria has not adopted a dedicated short-term rental ordinance, so STR operators are regulated through generally applicable rules: a City of Santa Maria business license under…

STR guests in Santa Maria must comply with city parking regulations. Hosts should provide parking information to guests and ensure adequate off-street parking is available.

The Santa Maria Municipal Code does not set a numeric overnight-guest or persons-per-bedroom limit specifically for short-term rentals. Practical limits come from California Building…

Every short-term rental operating as a permitted Homestay in unincorporated Santa Barbara County must hold a Transient Occupancy Tax license and stay current on TOT reports and…

Homestays in unincorporated Santa Barbara County must comply with LUDC standards that include noise and nuisance-response requirements. The County's Homestays FAQ lists noise and…

A Santa Barbara County homestay requires the host - the owner or long-term tenant - to be on the property at the same time the guests are staying. Hosting is defined by simultaneous…

In unincorporated inland Santa Barbara County, residential-zone short-term rentals must be homestays - the owner or a long-term tenant (six months or more) must live on the property…

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…

Under California Residential Code R105.2 (adopted by Santa Maria in SMMC Chapter 9-08), a wood, chain-link or similar fence not over 7 feet in height is exempt from a building permit…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Chapter 12-27 limits fences to 3 feet immediately behind the public utility easement (front yard), and 6 feet within required side and rear yards. A 6-foot…

Santa Maria Municipal Code prohibits barbed wire, razor wire, or similar sharp-pointed materials on fences in any zoning district. The Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission may…

Santa Maria's Good Neighbor Rules (Chapter 4-7) address fence-related neighbor issues. California law does not require neighbor consent to build on your own property. Shared fence…

A retaining wall under 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, needs no building permit in unincorporated Santa Barbara County, unless it holds back a surcharge…

Above-ground pools in Santa Maria must meet California barrier requirements. Pools with walls under 60 inches need additional fencing. Pools must be setback at least 10 feet from the…

Santa Maria requires swimming pools to be enclosed by a barrier at least 5 feet high per California Building Code. Gates must be self-closing and self-latching.

Santa Maria sets minimum front, side and rear yard depths by zoning district in Title 12. In the R-1 single-family district, front yards run 20 feet, side yards 5 and 10 feet, and rear…

Santa Maria caps single-family homes in the R-1 zone at thirty feet under Municipal Code Section 12-6.08, measured from the average finish grade of the lot to the highest point of the…

Santa Maria doesn't set one citywide lot-coverage percentage. Residential zones control building footprint through minimum lot size and setbacks instead, but two zones cap coverage…

Santa Maria residents cannot close a street for a block party on their own. The City Manager, with written sign-off from Public Works, the Fire Chief and the Chief of Police, must…

Anyone organizing a parade or an assembly of 150 or more people that blocks a Santa Maria street or sidewalk needs a permit under Municipal Code Section 8-4.02. Applications go to the…

Carnivals, circuses and other special events in Santa Maria, including street fairs, run on a Special Temporary Activity Permit capped at 10 consecutive days, issued by the Community…

Anyone erecting a booth or table in a Santa Maria park, or hosting a group over 75 people (100 for picnickers), must get a Recreation and Parks Commission permit under Municipal Code…

A business that wants to build a parklet in the county road right-of-way needs an annual business roadway encroachment permit and must meet eight standards, including a…

A restaurant that wants to serve food or drinks on the sidewalk or right-of-way in unincorporated Santa Barbara County needs an annual business roadway encroachment permit from the…

Pedestrians in Santa Maria's business districts must cross the roadway at a crosswalk. Crossing mid-block or outside a marked crossing anywhere in a business district is unlawful under…

Santa Maria regulates public marijuana smoking the same as tobacco smoking. Section 6-12.10 subjects smoking marijuana and ingesting marijuana products to Chapter 5-7's Smoking Control…

Santa Maria bans smoking in every City park, plaza and public parking facility, plus within a reasonable distance of any enclosed City building, under the Smoking Control Ordinance's…

Santa Maria bars anyone under 18 from loitering on public streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots or vacant lots between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under Municipal Code Section 6-3.02…

Santa Maria makes it unlawful to drink any alcoholic beverage on public property citywide, and to possess an open container in a posted city park, under Municipal Code Section 6-5.02…

Santa Maria's Aggressive Solicitation Ordinance, adopted as Chapter 6-10, makes it unlawful and a public nuisance to engage in aggressive solicitation on streets, sidewalks and other…

Skateboards, roller skates and toy vehicles are banned from every roadway and from any public sidewalk serving a business or business district under Santa Maria law. Posted private…

Santa Barbara County makes it a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate on any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, beach, public building, or other publicly maintained facility, or any…

In unincorporated Isla Vista, a deputy can declare a house party a public nuisance once three or more listed offenses, such as battery, vandalism, minors in possession of alcohol, or…

Owners of lots fronting an improved public street must maintain the sidewalk, parkway, curb, gutter and driveway in front of their property under Municipal Code Section 8-6.04. Owners…

Installing, removing or reconstructing sidewalk, curb, gutter, driveway or underground pipeline in the public right-of-way requires a public improvement/encroachment permit from Public…

Unattended property left blocking a Santa Maria street, sidewalk or public right-of-way is declared a public nuisance and can be impounded by the Police Department, the Recreation and…

New street-tree plantings tied to development must survive a one-year establishment period, pass a pre-planting City inspection, and follow current species and soil specs under…

The Recreation and Parks Commission can confer "Heritage Tree" status on any tree, public or private, that is over 50 years old, an uncommon species of remarkable height, or…

Removing a deciduous oak tree four inches or more in diameter in the county's inland agricultural and resource zones requires a permit above set thresholds under County Code Sec…

Every water customer must keep pipes, faucets, valves and plumbing fixtures in good repair to stop water waste under Municipal Code Section 8-10.32. If a customer willfully ignores a…

Santa Maria's landscape water-efficiency chapter lets property owners use recycled water systems and graywater systems for landscaping, subject to City approval and conformance with…

Santa Maria prohibits marijuana dispensaries anywhere in the city. Section 6-12.03 bars any person from operating or allowing a dispensary on any premises, and Section 6-12.04 extends…

Santa Barbara County keeps every licensed cannabis activity, including retail, cultivation, and manufacturing, at least 750 feet from any K-12 school, day care center, or youth center…

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…

Santa Maria requires every tobacco retailer to hold a City Tobacco Retailer's license under Section 6-13.02, capped citywide at one license per 1,500 residents. New retailers can't…

Santa Maria charges pawnbrokers and personal property brokers a $300 annual license tax under Municipal Code Section 4-3.395 and requires them to keep a detailed logbook of every…

Every massage business operating in Santa Maria needs a City Registration Certificate from the Chief of Police, and every practitioner performing massage for compensation must be a…

Santa Maria confines Adult Oriented Businesses to the C-1 and C-2 commercial zones and requires them to sit at least 750 feet from parks, schools, churches, libraries, and other adult…

Santa Maria makes it unlawful to repair vehicles or vessels for compensation on any residentially zoned property. Section 12-29.02.1 defines engaging in repair broadly to cover…

Secondhand dealers in unincorporated Santa Barbara County, defined as anyone whose principal business is buying, selling, trading or consigning used personal property, must hold a…

Santa Maria's storm water ordinance requires anyone doing grading, paving, concrete work, or landscaping to implement Best Management Practices that stop soil sediment and construction…

Any construction or development inside a mapped special flood hazard or mudslide area in Santa Maria needs a development permit from the floodplain administrator before work begins…

Santa Maria bans any non-storm water discharge to public or private property and requires storm water discharges to conform with the City's Phase II MS4 permit and Central Coast…

New construction and substantial improvements in a Santa Maria special flood hazard area must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to or above the base flood…

Santa Barbara County has roughly 110 miles of Pacific coastline (the Gaviota Coast, Refugio, El Capitan, Goleta, Hope Ranch coastal areas, Mesa, Mission Canyon coastal slopes…

Every hotel, motel, or short-stay rental in Santa Maria collects a 10% Transient Occupancy Tax on rent from guests staying 30 consecutive days or less. Operators must register with the…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-11.06 requires every occupant to keep refuse and recycling carts on the premises in a spot the Director of Utilities can readily access, and bars…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-11.05 gives the City the exclusive right to collect, transport and dispose of every bit of refuse and recycling generated within city limits. Only…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-11.04 makes trash and recycling service mandatory for every occupied premises, or any premises with a water account, inside city limits. Refusing…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-11.10 sets the pickup calendar: residential trash goes out at least once every calendar week, residential recycling comes every other week on the…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-11.14 tells residents exactly where carts belong: behind the required front yard setback every day except pickup day, and out in the public…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-11.13 handles bulky waste an unusual accumulation regular weekly collection cannot practicably handle, by having the Utilities Department pick it…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 8-11.16 governs bin-type dumpster service for businesses and multifamily properties. Containers with wet garbage must be emptied at least twice a…

Santa Maria requires every single-family home, business and multifamily property of five or more units to subscribe to the City's organic waste collection service and sort food scraps…

Santa Maria makes it unlawful to deposit rubbish, paper, tree trimmings, earth, rock, garbage, ashes or other debris on public or private property anywhere in the City under Municipal…

Santa Maria taxes most retail and commission-based businesses under a tiered gross-receipts schedule in Municipal Code Chapter 4-3, ranging from no tax on receipts up to $600 to $500 a…

Santa Maria Municipal Code Section 4-3.342 flatly bars the City from issuing any license for a commercial cardroom or card table, closing the door on draw poker rooms, card clubs, or…

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…

Door-to-door solicitors and canvassers in Santa Maria need a license under Municipal Code Section 4-3.3124, priced from $20 a day up to $500 a year, and must pass a Police Department…

Santa Maria bans peddlers and solicitors from knocking on doors or ringing bells at homes posted with a "No Peddler," "No Solicitors," or "No Peddlers or Solicitors" sign. Sections…

Santa Maria enforces the California Plumbing Code, 2025 Edition, and requires a City permit for plumbing work performed anywhere in the city. Only a firm holding both a State…

Santa Maria enforces the California Electrical Code, 2025 Edition, and limits who can pull an electrical permit to a State-licensed, City-business-licensed contractor, unless the…

Santa Maria requires a pre-roofing inspection before any new roof covering is applied, a permit before work begins, and a final inspection when reroofing is complete. Grading projects…

Santa Maria does not force fire sprinklers into an existing house just because a homeowner adds an ADU or JADU. SMMC Section 12-56.05(1)(i) requires sprinklers in the accessory unit…

Santa Maria enforces the 2025 California Building Code and requires a City permit before constructing, altering or repairing a building, and even before paving, restriping or…

Santa Maria enforces the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen), 2025 Edition, adopted by reference under Chapter 9-24. Unlike the City's Building, Residential and Fire…

Santa Maria's property nuisance ordinance makes it unlawful to maintain premises with dead, decayed, infested, or overgrown vegetation 'likely to harbor rats or vermin.' Code…

Santa Maria's locally amended Property Maintenance Code requires every dwelling to have heating facilities capable of maintaining 68°F in all habitable rooms; a kitchen stove or a…

Landlords in unincorporated Santa Barbara County cannot end a tenancy of twelve months or longer without at-fault or no-fault just cause, and must pay relocation assistance for…

Santa Barbara County has capped mobile home space rents since 1979, but only inside mobile home parks in the unincorporated area; there is no rent control for apartments or houses…

Every residential rental housing unit inside unincorporated Isla Vista must register with the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department under the Isla Vista Rental…

When a mobile home park in unincorporated Santa Barbara County wants to raise rent above 75% of the CPI increase, Sec. 11A-5 requires management's written notice to itemize the…

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…

Santa Maria's Chapter 9-52 implements the state Solar Rights Act and AB 2188 with a nondiscretionary, expedited process for small residential rooftop solar. Once an application matches…

Beyond the fast-track review timeline, Santa Maria requires every rooftop solar system to meet applicable state and City health and safety standards. Electricity-producing systems must…

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…

Santa Maria treats dilapidated buildings, abandoned structures, junk-strewn yards, graffiti and unscreened commercial vehicles in residential zones as an unlawful public nuisance under…

County Code Sec. 17-9 requires owners of unincorporated commercial and residential lots to keep the property free of litter and solid waste, and Sec. 17-66 declares any solid waste or…

Santa Maria doesn't set a blanket decibel limit for movie and TV shoots. Section 4-16.8 instead lets the film development office attach permit conditions restricting the daily hours a…

A film permit applicant who needs to close a Santa Maria street must request the closure on the film permit application itself. Section 4-16.14 lets the City Engineer require a traffic…

Any filming activity within Santa Maria, from staging and shooting to videotaping or photographing motion pictures, TV or commercials, needs a film permit from the film development…

Camping or storing personal property, tents, sleeping bags or cooking gear on any Santa Maria street, sidewalk, parking lot, bus shelter, park or other public property is a misdemeanor…

Santa Maria limits window signs to 25% of a building's window area per face. A window sign left up longer than 30 days in any calendar quarter loses its temporary status, becomes a…

Santa Maria bars off-site advertising displays on property next to any landscaped section of freeway under Municipal Code Chapter 9-64, matching California's landscaped-freeway…

Santa Maria classifies political signs as temporary signs under its sign code, not as an exempt category. Section 12-34.03 explicitly names political signs as a function of the…

Mobile billboards, vehicles carrying signs for hire to advertise, are banned outright across unincorporated Santa Barbara County. Electronic message center (digital) signs are legal…

A Santa Maria garage sale needs a special temporary activity permit from the Community Development Department, and that permit is limited to 60 consecutive hours under Municipal Code…

Santa Maria protects light farming through its RA Residential Agricultural zoning district rather than a separate right-to-farm ordinance. Section 12-5.02 reserves RA land for light…

Santa Barbara County shields established agricultural operations on land zoned A-I, A-II, or exclusively for agriculture from nuisance lawsuits once they have run for more than three…

Santa Maria grants a density bonus above the zoning-allowed unit count to residential projects that set aside affordable units under SMMC Section 12-48.03. A developer qualifies by…

Santa Maria bars overnight camping, sleeping, or parking in any public park at any time, and caps every park-use permit's activity at midnight, under Municipal Code Section 10-2.09…

Santa Maria makes it unlawful for anyone under 18 to loiter on streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots or other public places between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under Municipal Code…

Santa Maria requires outdoor lighting on mixed-use developments to be shielded so no direct beam reaches a residentially zoned or residentially developed parcel under SMMC Section…

Santa Maria caps light trespass from commercial and industrial glare sources at 0.5 footcandle measured in residential districts. Section 12-33.307 requires any operation producing…

Illuminated advertising signs, including off-premise billboards, within the Eastern Goleta Valley Community Plan area of the Coastal Zone must go dark between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise…

Cyclists in Santa Maria must ride within a designated bike lane where one exists, may only leave it at intersections or to turn, and drivers may only cross it to enter a driveway or…

County Code Sec. 9-1 splits e-bikes into three classes by motor type and top assisted speed, then groups all of them under the county's shared mobility device (SMD) rules covering…

Any shared mobility business, including electric or motorized scooter rental services, must hold a county encroachment permit before operating in the unincorporated area. Scooters…

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…

Santa Maria prohibits tobacco retailers from selling or possessing with intent to sell any Flavored Tobacco Product under Section 6-13.11, covering menthol, mint, fruit, candy and…

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…

Santa Maria designates historical landmarks through its Recreation and Parks Commission under Government Code Section 37361 authority. A landmark must be at least 50 years old and the…

Food trucks in Santa Maria cannot sell between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m., cannot vend within 500 feet of a school, and cannot park in one spot more than 30 minutes on public property…

Santa Maria requires every sidewalk food or merchandise vendor, whether stationary or roaming, to hold a Sidewalk Vending Permit under Municipal Code Chapter 4-20. Applicants must pass…

Food trucks are exempt from a county planning permit in unincorporated Santa Barbara County, but only when operating as incidental food service tied to an approved agricultural…

Bonfires, open flames and barbecues are banned on Santa Barbara County beaches under Sec. 26-27 unless the community services director approves them or they're used in a designated…

Flying a drone, kite, balloon, model plane or glider is banned within Goleta Beach County Park west of the pier under Sec. 26-85, one of the county's most specific park-use rules and…

Launching, landing or operating a drone anywhere in a Santa Barbara County recreation area, meaning any county park, beach, trail or open space in the unincorporated county, requires…

Santa Barbara County's Isla Vista Rental Housing Inspection Pilot Program, adopted by Ordinance No. 5270 on November 18, 2025, requires every residential rental unit inside the…

Beyond routine sweeps, the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department will inspect an Isla Vista rental unit whenever it receives a complaint. Sec. 10-18.6 lets the…

The county applies its Development Code to every property regardless of private CC&Rs, but Sec. 35.10.040.F.3 says the county will not step in to enforce a private covenant or HOA…

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…

Santa Barbara County has no data-center-specific ordinance. A data center is treated as an industrial use, belonging in the M-RP, M-1, or M-2 zones, and needs a discretionary land use…

Santa Barbara County has no numeric noise ordinance. Its Environmental Thresholds Manual treats a project as significant if it raises exterior noise at nearby homes above 65 dB(A)…

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 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…