Pismo Beach HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

Pismo Beach has tried more than once to rein in vacation rentals in its neighborhoods. In 2011 it asked the Coastal Commission to approve a ban on vacation rentals in its R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential zones. The Commission denied it on December 8, 2011. Its staff found a residential ban inconsistent with the city’s coastal policies on public access and visitor lodging, and suggested regulating rentals instead.

The city came back with rules in 2018, and the Commission approved them as submitted on August 10, 2018. They are in Municipal Code chapter 17.113. According to the Commission’s summary of that approval:

The chapter’s purpose section says it covers short-term rentals of single-family homes for stays under 30 consecutive days, and lists residency requirements, rental frequency, maximum occupancy, a good neighbor policy, on-site parking, inspections and occupancy tax compliance. If your association is a condominium or townhome project, ask the city how the chapter applies to your units before you rely on it.

The current picture is narrower than the 2018 rules. The city’s permit page says that since November 7, 2023, it has not issued new short-term rental licenses, under Ordinance O-2023-006. The city now uses two terms. A short-term rental is a stay of less than 30 consecutive days in the R-1, R-2, R-3, OS-1 and OS zones, and no new ones are being licensed. A vacation rental does not require the owner to live there and can be permitted only in the C-1, RR and R-4 zones, through the city’s online portal and a rental inspection. Check your zoning on the city’s land use map. The city’s rental FAQ says permits do not transfer with the sale of a property.

None of this limits your association. California Civil Code section 4741 does not stop an association from prohibiting rentals of 30 days or less, so a city license does not override a rental rule in your CC&Rs.

The city’s accessory dwelling unit rules are part of its Local Coastal Program, so changes go to the Coastal Commission. The ADU update the city sent to the Commission in 2021, which Commission staff recommended certifying as submitted, included these local points:

• Coastal development permits and building permits are required for all ADUs and junior ADUs.
• ADUs and junior ADUs are not allowed in mobile home parks and subdivisions, RV parks, the R-1 zone above Longview Avenue and Stratford Street in Pismo Heights or on slopes over 20 percent.
• Short-term rental use of ADUs is prohibited.
• Parking depends on distance from the coast. No off-street parking is required more than a quarter mile walk from a beach access point, a Coastal Trail segment, a coastal park or a coastal view area. Closer in, parking must be on the site, not on the street.
• A garage converted to an ADU in the coastal zone must have its parking replaced on the site. The Sunset Palisades subdivision has a 15-foot height limit for ADUs.

State ADU law has changed since 2021, and we could not open the city’s current ADU page. Check the current rules with the city’s planning staff before an owner designs a unit.

Inside your association, California Civil Code section 4751 makes void any CC&R provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts building an ADU or junior ADU on a single-family lot. Your association can still apply reasonable rules, such as architectural review.

The City of Pismo Beach runs the water system. In a 2025 project application to the County of San Luis Obispo, the city listed its supply as Lopez Lake, the State Water Project and two groundwater wells, Well 23 and Well 5. It said it relies on the Lopez pipeline for both its Lopez and State Water deliveries, and that during a 2025 boil water notice on the county’s Zone 3 Lopez system it had no backup.

The same application describes Well 23 as structurally degraded, with failure “considered imminent.” The city plans to replace it, with drilling and testing scheduled to finish by December 2026 and the new well in service by early 2028.

When we checked, the city’s water conservation page said Pismo Beach was in a Normal Water Supply condition. Even then, these rules apply:

• No outdoor irrigation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• No watering during measurable rain or within 48 hours after.
• No runoff onto neighboring property, walkways, streets, gutters or parking lots.
• No hosing down driveways, patios, parking lots or sidewalks unless the city finds it necessary for health or safety. Washing vehicles and buildings needs a hose that shuts off when you let go.
• Decorative fountains must recirculate their water.

The City Council also adopted an urgency ordinance that has barred new irrigated turf in all development since May 18, 2022. The city’s Cash for Grass program, updated November 1, 2022, pays $2.00 per square foot of lawn removed and replaced with drought-tolerant landscaping, up to the lesser of $10,000 or half the project cost, and the new planting must use drip or micro-spray irrigation on an automatic timer. The city describes the program for residents, so ask whether an association’s common-area account qualifies before you plan around it.

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. On owners’ own lots, Civil Code section 4735 prevents an association from banning low-water plants or artificial turf.

Section 10.08.070 bars leaving any vehicle parked on a street, alley, city parking lot or other public area for 72 or more consecutive hours. To count as moved, a vehicle has to go at least 100 feet and stay at least 100 feet from where it started, and the rule applies whether or not someone is inside it.

Section 10.08.140 limits parking of oversize vehicles and trailers, meaning vehicles over 23 feet long or 84 inches high. They may not park on public streets in a business district from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., and they are barred from public streets in part of the neighborhood southwest of Highway 101, so check the section for the exact boundaries. On private association streets, your own parking rules and state towing law do most of the work.

The code covers Saturday construction only through its general noise limits, so write working hours into your contracts rather than relying on the code alone. We found no gas leaf blower ban in the noise chapter.

Look up every common-area address on the city’s fire hazard severity zone map, which CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo Unit links from its fire hazard zone page, or on CAL FIRE’s statewide zone viewer. Pay most attention to slopes, canyons and open space.

Since July 1, 2021, state law can require the seller of a home in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone to give the buyer documentation of defensible space compliance, or to sign an agreement for the buyer to get it, depending on whether the local agency has an inspection ordinance or offers inspections (Civil Code section 1102.19). If your association maintains the vegetation around homes, owners who are selling may ask you for records.

The San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) runs the county’s SB 1383 organics program. It says all multifamily dwellings with five or more units must take part. Owners and managers must:

• Provide organic waste collection for residents and employees, set up through the local garbage company.
• Give residents access to enough organic waste containers.
• Educate residents and employees on sorting once a year.
• Give new tenants sorting information within 14 days of moving in.

Residents must sort their organic waste into the containers provided. IWMA offers free indoor collection containers and help with education and outreach.