Westlake Village HOA Guide: Local Rules for Boards and Owners

The City Council adopted its leaf blower ordinance on September 28, 2022, and it took effect January 1, 2023. The city’s Zero-Emission Equipment Ordinance page says:

• The ban applies citywide to all homeowners, gardeners, homeowners associations and landscape maintenance companies.
• Gas leaf blowers must be replaced with battery, electric or hand-powered equipment.
• The Council also directed staff to prepare an ordinance banning other gas landscape equipment starting July 1, 2023. The page does not say whether that second ordinance was adopted, and we could not confirm it.
• To report a gas blower, call (818) 706-1613 or email planning@wlv.org with the location, day, time and whether a homeowner or a gardener was using it. Staff return at the same day and time the next week to talk with gardeners directly.

The page does not list penalties or the ordinance number. For residents, the city offers a rebate of up to $200 for an electric leaf blower with its batteries and charger, from January 1, 2026 through December 2026 or until funds run out. Only residents qualify, and the page does not say whether associations or gardeners can claim it. Landscape professionals can look into the state’s CORE program, which the city says offers zero-emission equipment at reduced or no cost.

The city’s Protected Tree Permits page says:

• An oak is protected if its trunk is over four inches in diameter, or 12.5 inches around, measured 4.5 feet above the ground.
• A multi-trunk oak is protected if two trunks together are over six inches in diameter, or 18 inches around.
• Designated heritage trees are protected at any size.
• The page describes the permit process for maintenance and removal. An ISA-certified arborist must prepare a tree report, and the city will not accept evaluations from an arborist who is not ISA-certified.
• Staff decide whether a permit can be approved at staff level or must go to the City Council. As a condition of removal, the Council may require new oaks to be planted elsewhere on the property.
• If a tree threatens life or property, the arborist should contact the Planning Department right away to ask for an exemption, with documentation of the hazard.

The page does not list fees, pruning or encroachment rules or any brush clearance exception, and the city’s Protected Trees page would not open for us. Call Planning at (818) 706-1613 before your landscaper prunes, removes or digs near an oak.

The city also runs a free, voluntary program to designate non-oak trees, such as an exceptional sycamore, as heritage trees. The Land Use Committee reviews each application and the City Council adopts a resolution. A designated tree then needs a Protected Tree Permit before any work, and the owner stays responsible for its care. If your board nominates a common-area tree, that permit requirement comes with it.

The city’s page does not list permit length, limits per year, fees, code sections or a Sheriff phone number, and the municipal code would not open for us. We could not confirm a 72-hour rule or whether anyone enforces parking on private HOA streets. If your streets are private, your association’s own parking rules are the place to start.

The city says the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) owns and operates the water system in Westlake Village and sets all rates and policies for water service. Owners maintain the service line from the meter to the house. LVMWD lists these permanent water use restrictions:

• No irrigation from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• No irrigation during rain or for 48 hours after measurable rainfall.
• No runoff into streets, gutters or onto neighboring property.
• No drinking water to wash down sidewalks, parking areas or driveways.
• Fountains and water features must recirculate, and hoses used to wash cars need a trigger nozzle.

The first violation brings a written notice. Repeat violations within 12 months cost $100, then $200, then $500, and after a fifth the district may install a flow restrictor or end service. The district’s page lists no assigned watering days.

The city irrigates the Civic Center and many parks with recycled water from the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility. LVMWD’s Pure Water Project will purify surplus recycled water and blend it into the Las Virgenes Reservoir. The city’s page does not say whether associations can get recycled water, so ask the district.

LVMWD says AB 1572, the state law on watering nonfunctional turf with drinking water, phases in over five years starting in 2027 and covers common areas managed by HOAs. The State Water Board’s FAQ, updated July 29, 2026, gives the dates that matter to associations:

LVMWD’s rebate page lists turf replacement, weather-based irrigation controllers, indoor appliances and cisterns of 450 gallons or more, and points to regional rebate programs. It gives no amounts or HOA eligibility rules, so call the district at (818) 251-2100 before you plan a project around a rebate.

The city says the state updated its Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Los Angeles County in March 2025, and that the new maps changed the severity areas in Westlake Village. Some communities now fall into a moderate, high or very high zone. The city’s emergency preparedness page links to the state’s map viewer, where you can compare the old and new maps for your parcels. Fire service comes from Los Angeles County Fire Station 144.

Los Angeles County Fire’s 2026 Annual Defensible Space Clearance Notice lists Westlake Village. The notice says:

• Inspections. They begin April 1 in desert communities, May 1 in inland communities and June 1 in coastal communities. Ask the county which date applies to your community.
• Clearance. Remove combustible native and ornamental plants within 30 feet of any structure, or 50 feet in extra hazard areas, and thin what remains out to 100 feet. In extra hazard areas that can grow to 200 feet. Keep 10 feet of clearance on each side of fire access roads.
• Deadlines and costs. Failing to comply 30 days after the Official Inspection Report brings a $500 fine, and a $1,647 enforcement assessment goes on the property tax bill. The 2026 inspection fee is $151, billed on the 2027 tax bill.
• Zone 0. The state’s new rules for the five feet next to homes (AB 3074) were not final when the notice was issued. The Board of Forestry expected to decide in 2026.

The notice does not mention HOAs. The city clears its own land: each summer it uses grazing goats on city-owned property, open space, drainage areas and other public land, with work finished before an August 1 deadline. That program does not cover private or association land. The city says the state named Westlake Village a Fire Risk Reduction Community, which it says may bring more access to fire prevention funding and lower homeowners insurance rates. The city is also starting work on a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Its Brush Clearance Safety page would not open for us.

The city has a landscaping assessment district and a lighting assessment district. They fund the maintenance, repair and replacement of medians, street trees, streetlights, traffic signals and weed abatement, and Los Angeles County collects them with the annual property tax bill. The landscaping district has four zones:

Properties in neighborhoods where the city maintains medians and parkways pay an extra assessment for them. A separate district covers the Westlake Spectrum Business Park. The city’s pages give no amounts, and the Zone 3 page would not open, so look up each address on your property tax bill and check your CC&Rs to see which slopes and parkways are yours and which are the city’s.

The city pages we read do not say who owns or manages the lake. A Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board record for a 2004 permit on aquatic pesticides used for vector control lists the Westlake Lake Management Association as the permit holder. If your community borders the lake, read your governing documents to see whether your association or its owners belong to or pay into a lake association.