Belmont HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

Belmont’s noise code sets a separate limit for sound passing from one unit to another inside a multifamily building, through a shared wall, floor or ceiling: 45 dBA in the daytime and 35 dBA at night (section 15-102(c)(2)). Outdoor limits at residential property are 65 dBA in the daytime and 55 dBA at night.

For a condo or townhome association, that gives owners a city standard to point to in neighbor disputes. Your CC&Rs and rules can still set quiet hours and flooring requirements of their own.

Construction that needs a city permit, including powered equipment, is allowed only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays other than holidays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays (section 15-102(d)). That leaves no permitted construction on Sundays. The Building Official may allow exceptions.

Powered equipment for other work, such as landscaping, is allowed from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays (section 15-102(e)). Put both sets of hours in your contracts.

Removing a protected tree takes a city permit (section 25-5). Protected trees include coast live oak, valley oak, redwood, madrone, bay laurel and buckeye with a trunk 10 inches or more in diameter at breast height (section 25-2). Any tree with a trunk 14 inches or more is protected as well, and so are trees planted as required replacements. Each tree removed must be replaced with a 15-gallon tree of a preferred species or covered by an in-lieu fee, and a permit not tied to a development project is good for 60 days. Applications go through the city’s Permit Center at (650) 595-7422.

No one may sleep or live in a vehicle parked on a public street, and camper shells may not be stored there. Your association’s rules can be stricter.

We did not find a designation of private roads for Vehicle Code enforcement in the parts of Belmont’s code we could read. Where no designation exists, enforcing parking and speed rules on association-owned streets usually falls to the association, so ask the police department whether any roads in your community are designated.

The Mid-Peninsula Water District moved to Level 0, its normal-supply level, in March 2025. Its Level 0 list limits unattended irrigation to 15 minutes per valve per day, though drip, stream rotors and weather-based controllers are exempt, and requires leaks to be fixed within 10 days and hoses to have shutoff nozzles. The same page lists a ban on watering from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and also says watering times were expanded, so confirm current hours with MPWD at (650) 591-8941.

MPWD’s lawn conversion rebate pays $4 per square foot of converted lawn, run through BAWSCA’s Lawn Be Gone program, and artificial turf does not qualify. You need a notice to proceed before removing any lawn. MPWD’s page does not say whether association accounts qualify or what the cap is, so ask before you plan around it.

A state law passed in 2023 (AB 1572) bars the use of drinking water on nonfunctional turf in HOA common areas starting January 1, 2029. The law stops the watering; it does not require removing the lawn. A board that decides to replace decorative lawn can use a rebate, where one is offered, to pay for part of the conversion.

On owners’ lots, Civil Code section 4735 prevents an association from banning low-water plants or artificial turf as a replacement for lawn.

SMC Fire notifies owners of property next to open space each year and may inspect it, with inspections starting in late spring. The city reduces fuel on 100 to 200 acres of open space and right-of-way each year, and its chipping program now covers all residents west of Alameda de las Pulgas. Wildfire zone inspections: (650) 522-7940.

A hillside association should budget for vegetation clearance on common areas next to open space and schedule it before inspections begin.