Manteca HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

Manteca pays for much of its neighborhood landscaping through landscape and lighting districts and community facilities districts, kept in separate funds in the city budget. Council records name a citywide Maintenance and Services district formed in 2021, a Public Safety, Maintenance and Services district from 2022 and a district for DeJong Estates. We could not find the districts’ zone lists or rates on the city’s website, so ask the city which district covers your neighborhood and what it maintains.

Part of the city sits in the Mossdale Tract, behind levees maintained by Reclamation District 17. A levee development impact fee (chapter 13.50) applies to new construction there, and owners in the tract also pay a levee assessment levied by the San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency through 2055-56. A 2024 agency report says the Mossdale levees do not yet provide the 200-year protection that state law requires. The city posts 200-year floodplain maps on its flood maps page.

Manteca’s parking chapter applies to streets, alleys and parking lots the city owns, leases or maintains (section 10.44.010), and we found no designation of private roads for Vehicle Code enforcement in the chapters we could read. Driving or leaving a vehicle on private property without the owner’s permission is prohibited, but the rule does not apply to public or private parking lots (section 10.44.250). On association-owned streets, parking and speeding are generally the association’s to manage.

On lots with homes permitted after July 19, 1978, only one RV, oversized vehicle or boat is allowed per property, none in the front yard beyond 24 hours in any 72, side-yard storage needs screening and 3 feet of clearance, and rear-yard storage needs an enclosure or an approved pad (section 17.52.120). Commercial trucks over 8,000 pounds may not be kept in residential zones except for pickups and deliveries (section 17.52.150). Cars must park on designated driveways, not on landscaping (section 17.52.090). Code Enforcement handles RVs on private lots; police handle the street.

The city’s tree chapter covers street tree areas: planting, pruning or removing a tree there needs the Parks and Recreation director’s approval, and permits last 30 days (chapter 12.08). We found no heritage tree ordinance for trees on private single-family lots, and the city says trees on private property are the owner’s responsibility. On multifamily and nonresidential sites, trees planted under an approved landscape plan may be removed only if they are unhealthy or unsafe, with Community Development Director approval and an arborist’s statement (section 17.48.060).

Rentals of less than 30 days need an annual short-term rental and lodging permit and a business license (chapter 3.40). The rules are tighter than most cities’:

• Only an owner-occupied primary residence qualifies, meaning the owner lives there at least 270 days a year.
• Up to two rooms may be rented. Renting out an entire unit is prohibited.
• No new permit within 100 yards of an existing short-term rental.
• Two vehicles per booking, one pet and guests 25 or older.
• A local contact within 25 miles who responds within 30 minutes.

The applicant must certify that short-term use is allowed under any CC&Rs (section 3.40.060), so a CC&R ban effectively blocks a permit. HOA consent is not otherwise required. The occupancy tax is 12%. ADUs and junior ADUs may be rented only for more than 30 days. 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.

Odd-numbered addresses water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and even-numbered addresses on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Nobody waters landscaping on Monday or between noon and 6 p.m. Drip and micro-spray systems are not limited to set days, and private parks and landscape areas over 4 acres are exempt from the day schedule. Water waste brings a written notice, then fines of $100, $200 and $500.

The city’s Lawn-to-Garden rebate pays $1 per square foot of lawn replaced, up to 650 square feet for residential and 5,000 square feet for commercial accounts, in front yards and parkways visible from the street. The lawn must still be alive when the city approves your design, so do not remove it first. The terms name only residential and commercial accounts, so ask the Water Resources Coordinator at (209) 456-8492 how a common-area account is treated.

On homes permitted since July 16, 2015, turf may cover no more than 25% of the front or street-side yard, and at least 35% of a single-family front yard must be landscaped (section 17.48.050). Keep both in mind when reviewing owners’ landscape changes.

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, where one is offered, 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.

When visible from the street, dead or overgrown landscaping (any part of a lawn over six inches), trash, furniture left outside more than 72 hours, inoperable vehicles and parking on unpaved surfaces are nuisances (section 8.17.090). Dead vegetation is not cited during a city-declared drought. Code Enforcement sends a notice of violation, then a notice and order, then administrative penalties.

For weeds, a fire inspection warning gives 30 days, followed by a 15-day notice, before the city hires the work out. Unpaid charges become a lien after 90 days, and repeat offenders pay added fines (chapter 8.16).

Carts may not go out before sundown the day before collection and must be stored out of sight from the street except during collection (section 13.02.160). Solid waste violations carry fines of $100, $200 and $300.

Construction equipment may not be used between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. if it is plainly audible at the property line, and the code sets no separate weekend hours. Leaf blowers may not be used between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. (section 9.52.040). Put working hours in your contracts.