Danville HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

Under section 32-79.4, these trees are protected on any type of lot once the trunk reaches 10 inches in diameter, measured four and a half feet above the ground, or 20 inches combined for a multi-trunk tree: coast live oak, valley oak, canyon live oak, blue oak, California black oak, interior live oak, white alder, California bay, California buckeye, California sycamore, madrone and London plane tree.

• A heritage tree is any single-trunk tree of any species with a trunk of 36 inches or more. Memorial trees and trees an approved development plan requires to be preserved are protected too.
• A town permit is required to remove a protected, heritage or memorial tree. The town’s handout lists an application, a fee and possibly an arborist report.
• In a major ridgeline or scenic hillside area, the town also weighs the visual effect of removing the tree.

Common-area trees preserved on your original subdivision plans are likely covered whatever their size. Call the Planning Division at (925) 314-3310 before a tree service is scheduled.

Lighting and Landscape Assessment District 2025-1 has four zones. Zone A covers major roadway landscaping, and Zone B adds enhanced landscaping along the Camino Tassajara corridor. Zones C and D cover street lighting and parks and community facilities, and apply to every property.

The town’s hearing notice put the annual assessment for a single-family home between $219.50 and $329.26, starting in the 2025-26 fiscal year, with later increases tied to Bay Area inflation and capped at 3% a year. Owners ask boards about this charge because it rose from the old district’s rates.

The district pays for public areas. It does not maintain private streets, private street lights or association landscaping, so confirm who owns a landscaped strip before the association budgets for it.

We could not confirm the town’s short-term rental rule on an official page, so we do not state one here. The Planning Division at (925) 314-3310 can tell you how the town treats stays of under 30 days.

Your association’s own documents are the surer tool. 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.

For boards, the state rule matters more than the city one. Civil Code section 4751 voids CC&R provisions that prohibit or unreasonably restrict an ADU or junior ADU on a lot zoned for single-family use. An association can still apply reasonable restrictions through its architectural review process.

The town’s FAQ says it issues a 3-day temporary parking permit so RV owners can load and unload on the street, and that there is no such permit for semi-trucks or trailers. For the town’s other street parking and vehicle storage rules, call the Town Office before the board relies on one.

Town rules are written for public streets and private lots. If your association owns its streets, parking there is governed mainly by your own rules and by state towing law.

The town’s noise ordinance handout sets construction and repair hours in or next to residential areas at 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Leaf blowers and similar equipment may not cause excessive noise to nearby residents between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Put those hours in your landscape and construction contracts. Your own rules can set shorter hours.

The fire district’s exterior hazard abatement standards apply to association open space as they do to any parcel:

If the work is not done, the district can issue an administrative citation, abate the hazard itself and put the cost on the parcel as a lien. The district’s fire hazard severity zone maps now show moderate, high and very high zones, so look up each common-area parcel in its map viewer.

EBMUD’s permanent rules prohibit irrigation that causes more than incidental runoff and watering during or within 48 hours after measurable rain. EBMUD’s lawn conversion rebate pays $1 per square foot, or $2 per square foot for projects that meet its ecological standards and are planted between September and February. The cap in any two-year period is $15,000 for commercial and large multi-family accounts and $2,000 for single-family and small multi-family accounts. EBMUD decides which class an association’s account falls in, so ask before you plan around the larger figure. The project cannot start until EBMUD approves it in writing, and artificial turf does not qualify.

A state law passed in 2023 (AB 1572) will bar the use of drinking water on nonfunctional turf in HOA common areas starting January 1, 2029. A board with decorative lawn can use a rebate to pay for part of a conversion it will have to make anyway.

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