Garden Grove HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

Garden Grove’s Code Enforcement pages say short-term vacation rentals are prohibited in the city’s residential zones. The city treats a stay of less than 30 days like a hotel or motel, which is allowed only in commercial zones with a conditional use permit. Its zoning is permissive, so a use that is not listed is prohibited. The city cites these code sections:

• Section 9.32.020(E)(1), illegal hotel or motel use.
• Sections 9.08.020.030 and 9.08.020.040(A)(4), permitted uses and commercial uses in single-family zones.
• Sections 9.12.020.030 and 9.12.020.040(A)(4), the same rules for multifamily zones.

A violation is a misdemeanor, with fines of up to $1,000 per day per violation, up to six months in jail or both, and each day counts as a separate offense. Report a suspected rental to the Short Term Rental Hotline at (657) 206-1194 or through the city’s online complaint form. To support a citation, the city asks for its short-term rental affidavit plus evidence, delivered to Code Enforcement at City Hall.

Your association can also prohibit short rentals in its own documents. California Civil Code section 4741 does not stop an association from prohibiting rentals of 30 days or less.

Ordinance No. 2957 changed Garden Grove’s rules for wide vehicles, trailers and RVs, and the city began enforcing it on January 1, 2025. The rules:

Here is the part that matters most for boards. The city’s oversized vehicle page says the ordinance requires oversized vehicles parked on public and private streets to have a valid city permit. The city’s news release on the rules mentions only public streets, so ask the parking office at (714) 741-5382 how it applies to your association’s streets before you write it into your rules. The city says its rules for storing RVs on private property did not change.

Permits are issued online or at the Water Counter at City Hall, 11222 Acacia Parkway, and are checked by license plate, so nothing goes on the windshield. Report a vehicle without a permit to the police non-emergency line at (714) 741-5704 after checking the city’s list of active permits.

• 72 hours (section 10.56.100): a vehicle parked on a street more than 72 hours can be towed as abandoned. Inoperative vehicles may be stored only in a fully enclosed garage.
• Commercial vehicles (sections 9.16.240 M and N and 10.56.110): commercially registered vehicles rated over one ton may not be parked or stored in residential neighborhoods unless they are doing business there.
• Street sweeping (section 10.56.200): residential streets are posted no parking from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., twice a month. Major streets and special areas are swept from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.
• Alleys (section 10.56.150): no parking unless painted spaces allow it.

Code Enforcement does not handle abandoned vehicles or cars parked over 72 hours. The police traffic division does, at (714) 741-5704. Questions about permit-only parking or painted curbs go to Traffic Engineering at (714) 741-5192.

Apart from the oversized vehicle rule above, the city pages we read do not say whether police enforce these rules on private association streets. On your own streets and lots, your parking rules and state towing law do the work.

Garden Grove runs its own water service, and the city says it remains under a Stage 2 Water Alert, a mandatory level in effect since June 14, 2022, until further notice. The rules are in Title 14, Chapter 40 of the Municipal Code, the Water Conservation Program.

The city’s page does not say which schedule applies to association common areas, so ask Water Services at (714) 741-5395 before you program the controllers. The same page notes that state regulations protect residents of HOAs from rules and fines that are inconsistent with the city’s water conservation measures, such as requiring residents to remove or reduce water-efficient landscaping.

Rebates come through the city’s partnership with the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC). MWDOC’s commercial rebates list turf replacement at $2 per square foot plus $100 per tree for up to five trees, $35 per station for smart controllers and $2 per rotating nozzle (minimum 30), subject to funding. Artificial turf does not qualify, and the spray-to-drip rebate is open only to Irvine Ranch and Moulton Niguel customers. Ask MWDOC at (714) 593-5036 whether your association’s site qualifies and what approval it needs before work starts.

Under AB 1572, the 2023 state law on watering nonfunctional turf with drinking water, HOA and common interest development common areas must stop by January 1, 2029. The State Water Board says functional turf is mowed grass in a recreation area or community space, and that grass in street rights-of-way and parking lots is nonfunctional. Associations with more than 5,000 square feet of irrigated common area must also self-certify compliance by June 30, 2031.

Garden Grove’s Streets and Street Trees Division is responsible for about 20,000 city street trees. It also removes and repairs damaged concrete and prunes roots to protect sidewalks. The city says budget cuts eliminated staff in its tree and concrete sections, so service may be slower than it once was. Call the division at (714) 741-5375 about a city tree.

The city’s tree ordinance covers trees in public streets, parks and other public places. The city page we read does not describe permit rules, so ask before anyone trims or removes a parkway tree. For private trees, the city’s Code Enforcement FAQ says a neighbor’s tree dropping leaves on your property is a civil matter and that you may cut it back to the property line. Trees blocking a sidewalk, street or alley go to Public Works at (714) 741-5384.