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Pine Mountain LakeThe rules that affect the work
PML has its own hours, approvals and fines, and the ones that catch people out are rarely the ones in the front of the handbook. Here they are in plain English, with the ones that affect a job marked.
When you can make noise
The tightest rule on the list, and the easiest one to break with a compressor.
Construction noise only between 7 am and 7 pm, and never on a Sunday.
Loading the truck at 6:40 and starting the saw at 6:55 is a violation before the first cut. Sunday is off entirely, however quiet the job.
Community quiet time is 10 pm to 7 am — no noisy activity at all.
Covers generators, tools and radios on a job running late.
Noise that unreasonably annoys a neighbour is a violation at any hour of the day.
The clock is a floor, not permission. A complaint at 2 pm still stands.
Approvals before you start
The Environmental Control Committee approves anything that changes how a lot or a building looks. Approval comes first — always.
New construction needs ECC approval first: house, garage, addition, dock, lakeside deck, lot merger, anything into a setback.
The fine lands on the owner, but the job stops either way — and an owner who is fined because you started early is an owner who does not call again.
Sheds, decks and minor alterations need approval too.
The small jobs are the ones people assume are exempt. They are not.
Exterior changes need approval: roof material or colour, exterior surfaces, colour or material, added windows or doors, landscaping, hardscaping, driveways.
Repainting in a colour that is not on the approved list is a violation even when the paint is perfect.
A fence needs prior approval.
No approval, no fence — and taking one down again is your day, not theirs.
Exterior lighting must meet the acceptable-fixture standard, fixture by fixture.
Fined per fixture, so a run of six wrong lights is six violations.
Collect the permit before work starts; clean up construction debris; get an extension before the permit expires; book the final inspection inside the CC&R time limit.
Four separate fines, all for paperwork rather than workmanship.
Changing anything from the approved plans without asking is its own violation — major for design, colour or materials, minor for window and elevation changes.
The customer saying "just do it this way instead" is not an approval. Any unapproved change carries at least $50 and may come with an order to undo the work.
Grading a lot or digging trenches without a permit is a violation.
Land management work starts here more often than not.
Machinery or equipment left out in the open needs a construction permit.
A mini-excavator parked overnight on a lot with no permit is a citable condition.
Trees, brush and clearing
Land management work, and the most expensive mistake on the list.
Cutting any tree over 5 inches in diameter needs approval.
Measure before the saw comes out. Five inches is smaller than it sounds.
Never remove or limb a tree, or clear brush, in the common area.
Fine per tree PLUS a reimbursement assessment for the cost of replacing it. If the line between a lot and the greenbelt is not obvious, ask the Association before cutting.
Tree-removal debris has to be disposed of properly.
Leaving the slash pile "for now" is its own citation.
Dead or hazardous trees in the common area are reported to the Association, not dealt with.
Even a genuinely dangerous tree is theirs, not yours.
Fire safety and burning
The heaviest fines in the book — up to $2,000 on a repeat inside a year.
Burning requires the owner’s burn permit number. Burning without one, or unsafe burning, is a major violation.
Major means it carries the top point count on a rental property and the big fine range for everyone.
No open burning during the no-burn season. PMLA’s own documents differ: Common Violations says 1 June – 1 November, the 2024 handbook says 1 June – 15 November and adds that it changes.
Ring the Main Gate on 209-962-8615 for today’s answer before you light anything. The disagreement is in their documents, not a typo here.
Fire-safety violations are named individually: dead standing trees, downed trees, defensible space Zones 0, 1 and 2, weeds pin to pin, flammable debris, slash and brush.
This is the work list for a defensible-space job — and the citation list if it is left half done.
Ashes go in a metal container, doused, with a metal lid, kept outside away from anything that burns for several days before the bin.
Clearing a fire pit or a burn pile is your work, and ashes that look dead can still light days later. Handing back a metal can with a lid is part of the job.
Fireworks are banned year-round across Tuolumne County. No exceptions.
Hauling, junk and garbage
Clear-outs and junk removal, and where the load is allowed to go.
Illegal dumping is a named violation with its own enforcement track.
A load left anywhere but a proper disposal point comes straight back to the job it came from.
PML dumpsters are not for household or job waste.
The community bins at the amenities are not a free skip for a clear-out.
Cans or pre-paid bags over 50 lb are not collected, and extra trash needs prior arrangement with Moore Bros (209-962-7224).
Plan the load before you promise a customer it goes this week.
Overflow goes in pre-paid Moore Bros bags, and those go in the collection bin at Par Court by the PML maintenance yard — that bin takes nothing else.
The one place a legitimate extra load is accepted inside the gates.
Junk accumulating on a lot, an unsightly lot, or garbage building up are each violations in their own right.
Half-finished is a citable condition. Leaving the tidy-up for next week puts the owner in the wrong.
Bins must be out of sight from the street on non-pickup days unless they are in a built enclosure, and secured against wildlife.
The truck, the trailer and the gate
PMLA has adopted the California Vehicle Code inside the gates, and every traffic violation is treated as a safety matter.
No parking on the streets — shoulders included. Illegally parked vehicles are cited and can be towed.
A work truck and trailer on the shoulder for the day is the single easiest fine to collect on this list, and it is in the traffic tier: $100–$250, then $500, then $750 inside a year.
One vehicle per gate cycle. Following someone through, or letting someone follow you, is a violation and you pay for gate damage.
Gate issues are a MAJOR violation — three points at every stage. A crew in two trucks needs two entries.
The limit is 25 mph on every street in the community, and reckless driving is citable.
Traffic fines run to $750 for a third offence in a year.
Only street-licensed vehicles on the roads — no quads, dirt bikes or go-carts.
A utility quad or a mower driven between two jobs has to go on the trailer.
No non-operational vehicle stored on a lot.
Marina parking is property-owners only at weekends and on holidays.
On someone else’s lot
The conditions an owner can be fined for while you are the one standing there.
Owner maintenance, and failing to maintain or obstructing an easement, are finable conditions on their own.
Worth knowing when a customer asks what the notice they received actually means — and it is often the work they are hiring you for.
Signs fall under the sign ordinance.
A company board staked on a customer’s lawn while you work needs checking first.
Personal property stored out in the open around a residence is a violation, as are temporary structures — playhouses, tents and the like.
A materials pile or a pop-up shelter left between visits counts.
The golf course and its paths are for registered golfers only — no shortcuts, no equipment, no dogs.
The whole property is a wildlife refuge: no firearms, no hunting, and do not feed the animals.
Dogs leashed at all times, off every beach and amenity, and cleaned up after.
How a complaint turns into a fine
Three notices, then a hearing. Worth being able to explain to a customer.
Courtesy Notice, then Notice of Non-Compliance, then Final Notice, then a hearing at the Covenants Committee.
If a customer shows you a Courtesy Notice, there is still time to fix it before money is involved.
A violation is any behaviour, CONDITION or situation that conflicts with the governing documents.
A condition counts. Nobody has to be doing anything for a half-finished job to be a violation.
An owner can be ordered to restore damaged plants or structures, or to pay the cost through a reimbursement assessment, on top of any fine.
Damage done in the course of work does not stop at the repair bill.
Breaking the rules and regulations costs $50–$100 first time, $100 for each one after that within a year.
If it reaches formal legal action, the winning side recovers its costs including reasonable attorney’s fees.
If a customer rents their place out
Short-term rentals carry their own permit, their own rules and a point system.
Letting a whole dwelling for 30 days or fewer needs a PMLA short-term rental permit before it is advertised. Rooms and guest houses cannot be let short-term at all.
Violations at a short-term rental earn points: 1 for a Courtesy Notice, 2 for a Notice of Non-Compliance, 3 for a Final Notice. More than 6 in a year and the permit can be suspended.
Unregistered rentals, gate issues and unsafe or unpermitted burning score 3 points at every stage.
Two of those three are things a contractor can cause on a customer’s behalf.
No more than 25% of lots may be leased at any one time; owners of record on 19 November 2022 are exempt from the cap. Every lease must be in writing and bind the tenant to the same fines as a member.
A tenant’s violations are processed as the owner’s violations, with the same fines.
Dues, and what happens when they are late
For a customer who mentions they are behind — the clock is fixed by policy and state law.
Monthly assessments are due on the 1st and delinquent 15 days later. Late charge is $10 or 10%, whichever is greater; interest runs at 12% a year after 30 days.
At 91 days a Notice of Intent to Lien goes out by certified mail; at 131 days, or 40 days after that notice, a lien is recorded. Foreclosure can follow 30 days after that.
Membership must be in good standing to keep the vote and the use of the amenities; the Board can suspend privileges while an account is delinquent.
Not sure if your job needs approval?
Ask Bryan. He works inside these rules every week and will tell you straight, before anything starts.