Livermore HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

Livermore regulates short-term rentals in Municipal Code Chapter 5.90. A short-term rental is a home, or part of one, rented to a single renter for 30 consecutive days or less. A host needs a city permit and a city business license before operating. The main limits in Chapter 5.90:

• Permits run to December 31 of the year they are issued. Renewals are due by December 15.
• One permit per host citywide, one short-term rental per location and one renter at a time.
• An ADU can be permitted only if its building permit was issued before January 1, 2020. Garages, sheds, trailers, vehicles and tents cannot be rented.
• Owners within 100 feet are notified of an application and have 15 days to object.
• The city permit number must appear in every advertisement, and the host must name a local responsible party as a second contact.
• Outdoor noise from a permitted short-term rental is prohibited between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. (section 9.36.110).

A second violation within a year can bring a one-year suspension. Hosts also remit transient occupancy tax through the city’s online portal. The city’s short-term rental line is (925) 960-4450. A city permit does not override your CC&Rs. 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.

The city’s ADU rules are in Chapter 11.30 of the Livermore Development Code, last amended in July 2025. A detached ADU can be up to 850 square feet for a studio or one-bedroom unit and 1,000 square feet for a larger one. An attached ADU is limited to half the floor area of the main home, but that cap cannot push it below those same sizes. Junior ADUs are capped at 500 square feet. Detached units are generally limited to 16 feet in height, with 4-foot side and rear setbacks. No ADU or junior ADU may be rented for less than 30 days. The city also offers pre-approved ADU plans with a faster review.

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.

Street parking is covered by Chapter 10.20 of the municipal code:

These rules are written for public streets and individual lots. Inside an association the city steps back. Livermore Police say that neither the police nor Neighborhood Preservation handles vehicles in common interest developments such as HOAs, and that removing them is the property owner’s responsibility. If your association owns its streets or parking areas, you need your own parking rules and a towing arrangement that follows state towing law.

Your water provider decides which rules and rebates apply. Livermore Municipal Water, the city’s utility, serves the northern and eastern parts of the city. Cal Water serves the rest. The city says the color of the nearest fire hydrant tells you which one you have: red hydrants are Cal Water. Check every common-area meter, because the answer changes what follows.

Two chapters of the municipal code set watering rules. Chapter 13.26 applies to Livermore Municipal Water customers. Its Stage 1 measures are voluntary: run sprinklers only after 6 p.m. and before 9 a.m. Chapter 13.27 applies to every water user in the city, Cal Water customers included, once the City Council activates Stage 2 or higher:

Ask Water Resources at (925) 960-8100 which stage is in effect, and give the answer to your landscape contractor in writing. A common-area relandscaping job of 2,500 square feet or more also falls under the city’s water-efficient landscape rules in Chapter 13.25, so ask about the paperwork before you sign a contract.

Two points matter for the budget. First, Zone 7 Water Agency’s landscape conversion rebate pays $2 per square foot of lawn removed. HOA common areas fall under its commercial rate, with a cap of $20,000, and residential properties are capped at $3,000. It is open to Livermore Municipal Water customers and not to Cal Water customers, and the project must be approved before any lawn comes out. When we checked, Zone 7 was placing applications on a waitlist and said funding may become available beginning in July 2027. For the same customers, a smart irrigation controller rebate covers up to half the cost, to a cap of $3,000 for a non-residential property with a dedicated irrigation meter. Cal Water runs its own rebates, so its customers should call (925) 447-4900. Second, 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. Zone 7 also asks an owner in an HOA neighborhood for an approval letter from the association, so expect those requests and answer them quickly.

Chapter 12.20 protects trees by trunk size, and the size depends on the kind of property. Size is measured as the trunk’s circumference, not its diameter:

• On a single-family lot: any tree of 60 inches or more, or a California native such as a valley, blue or coast live oak of 24 inches or more.
• On multifamily, commercial and mixed-use property: 24 inches or more.
• In open space, riparian or habitat areas: 18 inches or more.
• At any size: a tree shown on an approved site plan or required by a condition of development. The same goes for any tree the city has designated as ancestral.

Removing a protected tree, or working inside its protected zone, requires a city tree permit. The zone reaches 5 feet past the drip line and is never less than 10 feet from the trunk. On property that is not single-family, each tree removed must be replaced with at least three 15-gallon trees, two 24-inch box trees or one 48-inch box tree. A violation is an infraction, and the city can charge $5,000 for each protected tree damaged or removed when its value cannot be determined.

The chapter does not mention association common area, and the trees in your original landscape plan may be protected at any size. Call City Hall at (925) 960-4000 and ask for the tree permit staff before your vendor removes, trenches near or heavily prunes a common-area tree. Street trees are a separate matter. They belong to the city, but the owner of the adjoining property must keep them trimmed, and cutting or root pruning one needs city approval.

The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department runs a vegetation management program for undeveloped land. Each spring the City Council identifies the properties in the program and the department mails notices. Hazardous vegetation is to be cleared by May 31. Inspections run from June 1 to 15, with follow-ups through June 30. In July the city clears properties that still do not comply and bills the owner for the work plus administrative fees. Unpaid bills can become liens. Associations that own undeveloped lots or open space should expect that notice and budget for the work.

Developed property is handled by Neighborhood Preservation instead. Under section 8.14.030, landscaping that is dead, overgrown or unkempt is a public nuisance, and required landscaping must be kept alive and irrigated. That applies to common areas as much as to front yards.

The City Council adopted an ordinance designating Livermore’s fire hazard severity zones on May 12, 2025, using the map the State Fire Marshal sent to the fire department. Stricter vegetation standards apply in the Moderate, High and Very High zones. Look up your common-area addresses on the fire department’s zone map, and ask the department at (925) 454-2361 what applies to each one.

The noise ordinance, Chapter 9.36, sets the hours for construction equipment. Under section 9.36.080, pneumatic tools, hoists, sandblasters and similar equipment may run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. They may not run on Sundays or on city-observed holidays. Section 9.36.040 lists the same hours for blowers, power fans and engines, but it does not name leaf blowers or mowers, so ask Neighborhood Preservation at (925) 960-4444 how it applies to a landscape crew. A resident doing their own home improvement work may use tools from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on any day. Put the contractor hours in your landscape and construction contracts. Your own rules can set shorter hours.