Plumas Lake HOA Guide: Levees, Districts and Who Maintains What

Reclamation District 784 operates under the authority of the state Central Valley Flood Protection Board and the Department of Water Resources. It maintains 29 miles of levees, more than 60 miles of internal drainage canals and ten pumping stations. In 2004 Yuba County and RD 784 formed the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority, which built the Feather River setback levee, completed in 2010 at about $160 million, and has worked along the Yuba, Feather and Bear rivers and the Western Pacific Interceptor Canal.

Property owners approved an RD 784 levee and internal drainage assessment in 2019, which replaced the earlier RD 784 and TRLIA assessments. Yuba County lists district charges like these on the tax bill as direct charges, with a phone number for each. If your bill shows an RD 784 charge, call the district with questions: (530) 742-0520.

Look up your parcels on FEMA’s flood map. Yuba County notes that buying flood insurance is not required in the lower-risk zones, but a board should still ask its insurance professional how the master policy treats flood, and keep association drains and inlets clear before storms.

Yuba County uses county service areas, or CSAs, to pay for services in new subdivisions, most often road and drainage maintenance. County staff administer them. The county says some Plumas Lake roads are not part of the county road system but are maintained with CSA funds, and that some neighborhoods pay a higher yearly assessment for enhanced street lighting.

The county also says the only way for it to require more street lighting in Plumas Lake is to amend the specific plan. Report a county streetlight, marked with a YC tag, to Public Works. Other poles belong to PG&E: (800) 743-5000.

Before the association budgets for a street, light or streetscape, ask Public Works whether a CSA covers it and compare the answer with your recorded maps. Public Works: (530) 749-5420.

The Olivehurst Public Utility District provides water, wastewater and parks and recreation services to Olivehurst and Plumas Lake. Its website lists 19 Plumas Lake parks among the more than 50 acres of park land it maintains.

Two OPUD community facilities districts, a type of Mello-Roos district, show up on many Plumas Lake tax bills. Plumas Lake CFD 2002-1 paid for water, sewer and park facilities. North Plumas Lake CFD 2005-2, formed in 2005, adds funding for park maintenance. These are special taxes, not association dues.

If a park or greenbelt is public, OPUD maintains it. If your recorded documents give the association a private park, pool or open space, your budget and reserve study need to cover it. OPUD: (530) 743-4657.

OPUD’s posted water restrictions, under level 2 of its water shortage plan, set the schedule:

• odd-numbered addresses may irrigate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
• even-numbered addresses may irrigate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
• no irrigation on Mondays, and none between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• no free-flowing hoses and no washing down paved surfaces

OPUD lists fines of $25, then $50, $100 and $250 for repeat violations. Program your common-area controllers to match, and confirm the current level with OPUD before each watering season.

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

The Linda Fire Protection District covers 52 square miles, including Plumas Lake, Linda, Arboga and parts of Olivehurst. Its Plumas Lake station is at 1765 River Oaks Boulevard.

The district’s weed abatement program runs on a set calendar. Parcel inspections begin in April, corrective notices go out the first week of May, and owners have until the middle of June to clear. If a parcel is not cleared, the district hires a contractor and bills the owner.

Associations with open space, buffers or vacant lots should schedule mowing before the inspections start. Linda Fire: (530) 743-1553.

County Code Enforcement takes complaints at (530) 749-5455 and does not accept anonymous ones. Your association’s rules can be stricter than the county’s.

Yuba County’s transient occupancy tax is 10% and covers home-sharing rentals such as Airbnb in the unincorporated county. Hosts must register with the Treasurer and Tax Collector each year and file returns quarterly.

Your CC&Rs can restrict rentals too. 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. On single-family lots, Civil Code section 4751 voids rules that prohibit or unreasonably restrict ADUs.