Overcoming Stormwater Challenges When Transitioning to a New HOA or Property Management Company

County of San Diego Homeowner’s Association Guide

As a Homeowner's Association (HOA) board member or property management company, you may be overwhelmed wondering what stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) you are required to maintain and how to do so. This may be especially challenging if you are a new HOA board trying to keep track of all your important documents or if you are a property management company who has acquired a new development to maintain. In response to these questions, the County developed this guide to help HOA board members, property management companies, and individual property owners distinguish maintenance obligations between each other. If you are wondering whether specific maintenance responsibilities fall under you or under someone else, this guide will help you identify the responsible party for these activities and achieve compliance for the annual Self-Verification Documentation (SVD) Program that starts in July.

For example, structural BMPs that are in parking lots, in shared common roads, and span across multiple properties are generally maintained by HOAs. In contrast, individual property owners are responsible for maintaining BMPs located on their property. To find out what you need to do, please refer to the Stormwater Maintenance Agreement or approved site development plans for more details on specific inspection and maintenance requirements for each BMP. If you are ever in doubt about whether the patch of grass that you are looking at is actually a vegetated BMP with stormwater functionality in disguise, or if you have any other stormwater questions, please contact us at BMP.Program@sdcounty.ca.gov or call us at (858) 495-5323. 

Stormwater Resources

• Homeowner’s Association Guide – Learn more about structural BMPs managed by HOAs  
• Fact Sheets – Access fact sheets for the BMP types on your development to understand how to conduct maintenance 
• Vendor List for Structural BMP Maintenance – View a list of vendors, certifications, and resources that can help with maintaining structural BMPs 
• Waterscape Rebate Program – Apply for rebates for the installation of landscaping and water-wise features, like turf replacement and watersmart edgescaping 
• Stormwater Maintenance Agreement – Find specific information about the BMPs in your development 
• Approved Site Development Plans – Check out plans related to your development 

FOR QUESTIONS, CONTACT THE BMP PROGRAM:

858-495-5323 or bmp.program@sdcounty.ca.gov

Maintaining My Structural BMP Webpage

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Find My District

ONLINE SERVICES

Report Stormwater Pollution
Report observed pollution to the correct jurisdiction.

Citizen Access Portal
Research property information and permits. Apply for some permits online.

GIS Maps
Find property information including zoning designation with our web-based mapping tool. 

Watershed Protection Website
sandiegocounty.gov/stormwater

Project Clean Water efforts are focused on providing a centralized point of access to water quality information and resources for San Diego County Watersheds. Click HERE to visit Project Clean Water’s website.