San Jose HOA Guide
Communications Hill HOA Guide: Who Maintains What
Communications Hill is the hilltop district between Highway 87 and Monterey Road, south of downtown San Jose. The City Council approved the Communications Hill Specific Plan in 1992 for about 500 acres, and the city’s parks department describes the plan’s vision as a dense, highly urbanized, pedestrian-oriented residential neighborhood.
What makes the hill different for a board is how the upkeep is divided. Where a slope is too steep for a street, the plan turns the right-of-way into a public stairway. A city district, Community Facilities District No. 8, collects a special tax on the property tax bill and is authorized to maintain things like stairways, slopes and trails. The city’s conditions for the newer phases also call for a homeowners association for all residential development. So a typical block has three layers: the city, the district and an association. This guide sorts out which is which, using city records.
Facts on this page were checked against City of San Jose documents on October 10, 2026. Several of those documents are planning records from 2002 and 2014, so use them as a starting point and confirm the details against your own recorded maps. For the citywide rules that apply to every San Jose association, see the San Jose HOA Guide. Sources are listed at the bottom of the page.
At a glance
Communications Hill at a glance
One thing this page does not do is name the associations. No city document we read lists them, and the hill has been approved and built in separate pieces over three decades, so which association you belong to depends on your tract. We do not state any association’s name, size, amenities or dues. If you own here, your CC&Rs, your escrow papers and your assessment statement will show which association or associations you belong to.
Who maintains what, according to city records
Read that table with two cautions. First, the district’s own report says its list shows what the district is authorized to fund, and that not every item on the list is guaranteed to be funded. Second, the 2014 conditions were written for the second phase. The earlier tracts were approved separately, and their maps and conditions may divide the work differently.
The practical lesson for a board: before you budget for a slope, a wall, a stair or a drainage basin, confirm on the recorded map who owns the parcel, and ask the city whether District No. 8 maintains it. Paying a contractor to work on land the district already covers is an avoidable mistake. So is assuming the district covers a wall that turns out to be yours.
What to do about it: What Are HOA Assets? explains how to build a list of what your association owns, and Understanding HOA Reserve Studies shows how that list drives the reserve plan.
District No. 8 on a Communications Hill tax bill
This charge goes to the city, not to any HOA. Here is what the city’s district report and budget records say about it.
We could not find a city page that states this year’s rate per home, so we do not quote one. Your property tax bill shows the amount. The city’s Department of Transportation says San Jose has 19 special landscape districts covering more than 385 acres, and that each one is paid for by an assessment added to the property tax bills of owners inside its boundaries. The department publishes an interactive Special District map, and Public Works Development Services, at (408) 535-3555, posts district reports and maps.
Is the District No. 8 tax the same as HOA dues?
No. The district tax goes to the city for the public stairs, slopes, trails and landscaping on the district’s list. HOA dues go to an association for what it owns and runs. An owner here can pay both, and the two cover different things. When owners ask the board why they pay twice, that is the answer.
The stairs, trails and parks are public
The stairways are the hill’s signature, and they are not association amenities. The 2014 staff report explains that where the street grid cannot continue on a steep slope, the right-of-way becomes a public pedestrian stairway, and that the stairs are meant to give the neighborhood a sense of place and make it easier to walk.
The trail is public too. The city’s trail listing shows a 0.6-mile reach open between Grassina Street and Communications Hill Boulevard, with about 5 more miles planned as the neighborhoods are built. The finished system is meant to circle the hill, link the neighborhood parks and reach the Highway 87 Bikeway. The city is also planning two new public parks in the remaining phases, one of 1.15 acres and one of 1.9 acres. It ran community meetings and surveys on their names and design in 2024, and the Parks and Recreation Commission was scheduled to review the plan on December 4, 2024. The city’s project page did not show the outcome when we checked.
For a board, public means two things. Your rules, your hours and your gates do not apply to a public stairway, trail or park, even one that runs between your buildings. And problems there go to the city, not to your landscaper: San Jose 311 takes reports of graffiti, illegal dumping, streetlight outages and abandoned vehicles through its app and website.
Visitors are part of life next to a public staircase. In May 2025 a budget memo from the District 7 council office said residents had reported illegal parking and other nuisance behavior around the grand staircase and nearby outdoor spaces. It described a third-party security contract for the area worth $150,000, paid from what the memo called HOA funds, special assessments paid through taxes or both, and it proposed moving that money to the Police Department’s secondary employment unit. We could not confirm from city pages what was decided. If your board is asked to pay for patrols, ask first what the district already funds and who holds the contract.
What to do about it: How to Minimize Homeowners Association Liability and HOA Rules and Enforcing Violations.
Parking in a dense district
Parking is the complaint most dense neighborhoods share, and here the plan built the curb into the supply. The 2014 standards for the second phase call for two covered spaces per home and allow those spaces to be tandem. They also let on-street parking count toward part of the requirement, with reductions possible through a city permit. On public streets, San Jose’s citywide rules apply:
Those rules are for public streets, and the city enforces them. Report a vehicle through San Jose 311, with a photo and the license plate number. An association has no power to ticket or tow on a public street.
Private streets and alleys are different. The 2014 staff report counts 375 detached alley houses in the second phase alone, and the conditions treat private streets as shared infrastructure. Where a street or alley is association property, parking is governed mainly by your own rules and by state towing law. Check your map before you write a rule or sign a towing contract, because the answer can change from one side of a block to the other.
Good practice, not law: decide whether garages must be kept usable for cars, set a clear guest parking rule, mark the lanes that have to stay open and enforce the rules the same way for everyone.
Slopes, walls, stormwater and what is under the hill
Nearly everything here sits on graded ground. The 2014 staff report describes street grades of up to 15 percent, and its slope stability measures limit cut and fill slopes to 2 to 1, horizontal to vertical, unless a retaining wall holds them. The second-phase standards also say a retaining wall over 2 feet high needs a Planned Development Permit. If an owner or the board wants to add, raise or rebuild a wall, call the Planning Division before hiring anyone.
Stormwater is built into the hillside. The second phase sets aside about 126 acres as open space that includes water quality basins, and the report describes changes to two existing stormwater basins beside earlier developments. Citywide, Municipal Code section 20.95.120 requires property owners to operate and maintain the stormwater treatment measures on their property. City inspectors check them from time to time and the city says fines are possible. Each measure must keep a visible sign that reads ‘Stormwater Treatment Measure’ and ‘Do not alter or remove’. If your tract has a planted basin, a swale or a filter unit, find out whether it belongs to the association or to the district. If it is yours, put its upkeep in the landscape contract. The city’s stormwater line for signs and maintenance questions is (408) 945-3000.
The ground itself matters. The staff report notes naturally occurring asbestos on part of the site and serpentinite rock in its slopes. It required an asbestos dust mitigation plan approved by the Bay Area Air District before grading. That condition was written for the developer’s grading, not for routine gardening. Still, before the association takes on trenching, regrading or wall replacement, ask your contractor and the Air District what applies to your site.
On wildfire, we could not confirm from the city’s pages whether any Communications Hill address is in a fire hazard severity zone, so we do not describe one here. The State Fire Marshal designates the zones and the city may not shrink them. The Fire Department publishes a finder map where you can enter an address. Look up the addresses that border the open slopes.
What to do about it: How to Hire a Contractor for Your Homeowners Association and Managing Outside Vendors for Your HOA.
What a small board here should plan for
This list is good practice drawn from the records above, not a set of legal requirements. Where a law or a city rule is behind an item, we name it.
- Draw the map first. Mark every stair, slope, wall, alley, basin and landscaped strip as city, district or association, using your recorded map and CC&Rs. Keep it with the board’s records, because volunteers change.
- Fund the heavy items. Private street and alley paving, retaining walls, drainage and the parts of attached buildings your documents assign to the association are costly and wear out slowly. They belong in the reserve study.
- Read the insurance with the documents. In townhomes and condominiums, where the association’s policy stops and the owner’s begins depends on your CC&Rs. See What HOA insurance covers.
- Plan for lawn. 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. Valley Water’s Landscape Rebate Program pays a base rate of $2 per square foot to convert lawn, with a $100,000 cap for commercial sites and multifamily sites of five or more units. Valley Water says funding lasts until June 30, 2027 or until it runs out, and you need a written Notice to Proceed before any work starts. Ask Valley Water how your common-area account is classified.
- Get the tree permit. The city requires a permit before any street tree is pruned, removed or planted, and the permit is free. Ask whether a tree is yours or the district’s before your vendor starts.
- Watch what is built next door. The hill is not finished. The city approved the Phase 3 Village Center on October 25, 2023, with 505 homes and 32,000 square feet of commercial space, and lists another 799 homes in Phases 3 and 4. More homes mean more traffic on shared streets and stairs, and possibly new neighbors on your boundary walls and slopes.
- Be honest about volunteer time. A small association has the same legal duties as a large one. Decide early what the board will do itself and what it will hire out.
Who to call
| Office | Phone | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Planning Division, Communications Hill project | (408) 535-7688 | Questions about the plan, permits for walls and what is approved next |
| Public Works Development Services | (408) 535-3555 | Special district reports and maps |
| Department of Transportation | (408) 535-3850 | City streets and roadside landscaping |
| Trees and sidewalks | (408) 794-1901 | Street tree permits |
| Stormwater treatment measures | (408) 945-3000 | Signs and maintenance questions |
| San Jose 311 | App and website | Abandoned vehicles, graffiti, illegal dumping, potholes, streetlight outages |
| Valley Water conservation hotline | (408) 630-2554 | Landscape rebates |
Sorting out who does what?
The city, a city district and an association can all touch the same block on Communications Hill, and small boards often inherit unclear maps. If your board is deciding between managing itself and hiring help, start with Self-Managed vs. Professional HOA Management, or tell us about your community and we will send you options from affiliated management companies.
Compare HOA management optionsQuick answers
Questions Communications Hill board members ask
Who maintains the staircases?
City records treat them as public. The 2014 staff report describes them as public pedestrian stairways in the right-of-way, and stairways, their lighting and their landscaping are on the list of items Community Facilities District No. 8 is authorized to maintain. Steps inside a tract’s own common area are a different case, so check your map.
How much is the District No. 8 special tax?
The district’s 2002 report set a maximum of $667 per home for fiscal year 2002-03 and adjusts the maximum each year by the regional Consumer Price Index. We did not find a city page with this year’s figure. Your property tax bill shows it.
Can our HOA tow a car parked in front of our homes?
Only if the street or alley is association property and you follow state towing law and your own rules. On a public street, parking is enforced by the city, and the 72-hour limit in Municipal Code section 11.36.220 applies. See How to Set Up a Towing Service in Your Homeowners Association.
Can we close the stairs or the trail next to our buildings at night?
Not if they are public. An association’s rules apply to its own property. For problems on a public stairway, trail or park, report them through San Jose 311.
Do we need a permit to prune a tree along the street?
Yes. The city requires a permit before any street tree is pruned, removed or planted, and it is free. The city’s trees and sidewalks line is (408) 794-1901.
Is Communications Hill in a fire hazard zone?
We could not confirm that from city pages. The zones are set by the State Fire Marshal, and the San Jose Fire Department has a finder map where you can enter an address.
Do San Jose’s citywide rules apply here?
Yes. The specific plan shapes how the hill was built, but city ordinances apply here as they do anywhere in San Jose. See the San Jose HOA Guide. Your CC&Rs can be stricter.
Keep going
Where to go next on How2HOA
Sources for this guide
These sources open in a new tab.
City of San Jose planning records: Communications Hill project page; Communications Hill Specific Plan brochure; Planning Commission staff report and draft conditions, September 2014; Communications Hill Specific Plan Area Development Policy, June 2014; state CEQAnet record for Communications Hill 2.
City of San Jose districts and budget: Community Facilities District No. 8 (Communications Hill) report, July 2002; 2024-2025 comparison of budget to actual revenues and expenditures by fund; Department of Transportation landscaping and special districts; Public Works special districts; Budget Document 19, May 22, 2025.
City of San Jose parks, streets and services: Communications Hill Phase 3 and 4 parks; Communications Hill trail listing; parking regulations; vehicle abatement; San Jose 311; tree permits; city streets; stormwater treatment measures; fire hazard severity zones.
Regional and state: Valley Water landscape rebates; AB 1572 (2023).
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Compare HOA management optionsGet the free board checklistsThis page is general educational information, not legal, financial or insurance advice. How2HOA is not affiliated with any association on Communications Hill or with the City of San Jose. Ownership and maintenance vary parcel by parcel, so check your recorded maps and governing documents and talk with your association’s attorney or another qualified professional about your situation.