Calistoga HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

Chapter 17.34, adopted by Ordinance 778 in November 2025, bans operating any short-term rental in the city, meaning a home or part of one rented for 30 consecutive days or less. Hosting platforms may not complete bookings for one. A violation is a misdemeanor with a $1,000 fine per violation, and each day is a separate violation. The city can also charge it as an infraction with higher fines for repeat violations.

The city’s ban already covers your community, so CC&R rental limits mainly matter for longer leases. California Civil Code section 4741 limits how far an association can restrict rentals generally, but it does not stop an association from prohibiting rentals of 30 days or less.

Gas leaf blowers are banned at all times on every property, for owners, tenants and contractors alike (chapter 8.21). Electric and battery blowers may run from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday but never on city holidays. Debris may not be blown onto a neighboring parcel or the street. A violation is a public nuisance handled through administrative enforcement.

Professional construction is prohibited every night from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Saturdays included, and all day Sunday (section 8.20.025). A homeowner working on their own primary residence is exempt, but contractors working for the association are not.

Calistoga’s tree chapter (19.01) protects any tree over 12 inches in diameter at breast height, native oaks over 6 inches, valley oaks of any size (seedlings included) and any tree holding an active nest of a fully protected bird. Removing or disturbing a protected tree needs a permit from the Director of Public Works, who decides within 15 days. A permit expires after 30 days unless extended. Heritage and landmark trees need City Council approval to remove. Unpermitted damage is valued with the arborists’ (ISA) method, starting from a basic value of $22 per square inch of trunk, and appeals go to the City Council within 10 days.

Most mature trees in a common area will be protected, so get the permit before removing one, and ask Public Works before heavy pruning, which can count as disturbing the tree.

The property maintenance chapter (8.24) requires properties to be free of visible trash and excessive growth. Landscaping must be kept healthy, lawns watered and trimmed to a uniform height, trees and shrubs pruned so they clear walkways and driveways. Irrigation systems must be kept working. Vehicles, trailers and similar items may not be parked or stored for more than 72 hours unless they are outside the required front or street-side yard, on an all-weather surface and screened from view.

Under the weed chapter (12.12), the Public Works Director sends notice by certified mail, and an owner has 10 days to clear the growth or appeal before it becomes a public nuisance.

The city adopted the State Fire Marshal’s 2025 fire hazard severity zone maps. In Very High zones, vegetation must be cleared or maintained within 100 feet of homes, or to the property line if that is closer, and new construction and renovations must meet the state’s wildfire building standards. In High zones, new construction must meet those standards starting January 1, 2026. Check your community on the state’s map viewer.

When a home in a High or Very High fire hazard severity zone is sold, Civil Code section 1102.19 generally requires the seller to give the buyer documentation of a defensible space inspection, or a written agreement that the buyer will get one within a year after closing.

The city’s Cash for Grass rebate pays $1 per square foot of lawn removed, up to $750 per parcel, for properties on city water with accounts in good standing. The city must approve the project and inspect the lawn first, and lawn that is long dead or already removed does not qualify. Replacement plants must be low-water, any irrigation must be drip and plastic sheeting and concrete are not allowed. The work must be finished within 120 days of approval and kept up for five years. The rebate form does not mention HOAs, so ask Public Works at (707) 942-2828 how it applies to a common-area account.

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 voids association rules that ban, or effectively ban, low-water plants or artificial turf, though the association can still apply reasonable landscaping rules.