Tahoe Donner HOA Guide: Snow, Forestry and Short-Term Rentals

The association’s own resource page says snowplowing the streets, speeding and parking on the street or in the Town right-of-way are not association matters. Call the Town or the police for those.

An owner who rents for 30 nights or less needs a Town registration certificate. The Town caps those at 1,255, says the cap has been reached and had 340 properties on its waitlist as of October 19, 2026. The owner must also register the rental with Tahoe Donner within 30 days of starting to rent. The association says registration is free.

The association’s Short-Term Rental Rules took effect January 1, 2019. Its FAQ notes that the Town’s rules adopted in late 2020 are stricter in some ways. Here is how the two compare on the points we could confirm:

Under the association’s ADU rules, an ADU or junior ADU may not be used as a short-term rental. To report a rental problem while it is happening, the Town runs a 24/7 STR helpline at 530-450-2430.

The association’s help center says the Town of Truckee handles road plowing and snow removal in Tahoe Donner, the association is responsible for the common areas and owners are responsible for their own homes and driveways. The Town’s rules apply here as everywhere in Truckee:

Tahoe Donner lots also pay a Town charge called TSSA 1 on the property tax bill: $95 a year per improved lot and $70 per unimproved lot. The Town controls it, not the association. Its allowed uses include enhanced snow removal, road and drainage maintenance and trails. The Town’s draft plan for 2025-26 put the money toward paving and drainage, the Tahoe Donner Trail, roadside vegetation management and an emergency egress study.

The association’s Forestry Department maintains its common-area forest and inspects private lots. It assesses each property for defensible space every six years and sends the owner a report. Owners are expected to keep up the standards every year, and Forestry can require work at any time. The association’s published requirements include:

• Pine needles off every roof, and cleared from the ground within 10 feet of structures.
• Branches within 10 feet of a chimney, roof or eaves removed, and an approved spark arrestor on the chimney.
• 10 feet of clearance around a propane tank, and brush within 10 feet of the house removed.
• Firewood and lumber stacked 30 feet from the house, unless fully covered by a fire-resistant tarp rated by the State Fire Marshal.
• On trees over 15 feet, lower branches removed to 6 feet off the ground. Dead and beetle-infested trees removed.
• Dead grass cut to 6 inches or less.

Truckee Fire’s own zones apply on top of these, including Zone 0, the 5 feet around a building where no combustible mulch or debris belongs. The Truckee HOA Guide lists all three zones.

Exterior changes go through the association’s Community Standards Office and its Architectural Standards Committee. The association sorts projects into Maintenance, Minor, Minor with Neighbor Notification and Major permits, and publishes a fee schedule. Its architectural office reminds contractors that exterior work needs a Tahoe Donner permit and may also need a Town of Truckee permit. Contact the Community Standards Office before you start any exterior work, including new materials, colors or landscaping.

The association’s ADU and junior ADU rules took effect February 22, 2020 and were amended October 24, 2025:

• One ADU and one junior ADU per lot.
• The unit must meet the Town’s code and get a Town permit as well as association approval, and the committee may set reasonable conditions.
• No short-term rental of the unit, backed by a covenant recorded against the lot.
• One designated on-site parking space for the unit, and tenant vehicles limited to the off-street spaces.

Civil Code section 4751 voids CC&R provisions that prohibit or unreasonably restrict ADUs on single-family lots, but it allows reasonable restrictions like these.

The Town’s trash guide says never to put trash outside before 5:00 a.m. on collection day unless it is in an approved bear shed, and to keep the shed securely shut.

The association calls these Animal Resistant Garbage Can Enclosures (ARGCEs). Its minimum standards say:

• An ARGCE is required with new home construction, significant additions or garage construction unless the Architectural Standards Committee grants an exception. One is also required when an enclosure is installed or replaced.
• A custom ARGCE is a minor project with fees, approved by the committee, with drawings and a site plan.
• New enclosures go on the owner’s property, not in the Town right-of-way.
• Enclosures more than 28 feet from the pavement edge may cost a weekly surcharge from the hauler.

The association’s covenants also cover garbage spills and cart storage on private property. Registered short-term rentals need a bear bin under the Town’s rules.

The association posts its budget reports and session schedule on its public site. If you are buying, ask for the current budget, reserve study and any planned special assessment.