Metal roof gutter running along the bottom of a slate roof, with a downspout outlet dropping into a round drainpipe. Photo: Le plombier du désert, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Gutter cleaning · Menlo Park
Menlo Park gutters, from the heritage oak to San Francisquito Creek
In Menlo Park the tools come first. Since July 1, 2024 the city's zero-emission landscape equipment ordinance has barred gas leaf blowers and string trimmers on every property, and the owner answers for it whoever holds the blower. The leaves belong in the green organics cart: the sweeper comes weekly from November through February but leaves piles alone, and more than 46 miles of storm drains carry runoff untreated to San Francisquito Creek, Atherton Channel and the Bay.
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Rules on this page checked against 13 public sources, October 2026
Gas leaf blowers
Banned with string trimmers since July 1, 2024 (ZELE)
Heritage oak size
Native oak 10 inches across at 54 inches; most others 15
Public trees
About 19,000, pruned on a 5-year cycle across 16 zones
Winter street sweeping
Weekly Nov.-Feb., usually the business day after trash day
The work
Three parts of a Menlo Park clean-out the city has rules for
01
Battery blowers, by ordinance
The zero-emission landscape equipment ordinance, adopted July 11, 2023, requires manual, electric or battery-powered equipment, starting with leaf blowers and string trimmers on July 1, 2024 and reaching chain saws, lawnmowers and hedge trimmers in January 2029. It covers residential, commercial and public property, and the city holds owners responsible for the equipment used on their land, whoever operates it. A crew that blows out gutters and roof valleys here has to arrive with battery gear, or work with a scoop.
02
Leaves to the green cart, not the curb
The city asks residents not to create leaf piles in the street and not to put sticks, branches or palm fronds in the street or gutter, and its storm advice is to put leaves in the green organics cart. Recology collects the carts, which go out before 6 a.m. on service day with their wheels against the curb and 2 to 3 feet between them. After a heavy clean-out, that can mean holding some leaves back for the following week's pickup.
03
Downspouts aimed at the lawn
The city's stormwater tips ask residents to direct water from downspouts to grassy areas so it soaks into the ground instead of hitting pavement, and not to hose down the driveway or flush dirt down a storm drain. When a clean-out ends with a flush of each downspout, the muck that comes out belongs in the cart, and the outlet belongs over soil or planting. Turning or extending a downspout toward a bed is small work that fits the same visit.
Roofs under two canopies, the city's and the heritage tree's
Most Menlo Park roofs sit beneath two kinds of tree. Along sidewalks and in parks stand the city's roughly 19,000 public trees, which residents may not remove and which the city replaces, once they are dead, dying or high risk, with species picked to be more climate resilient and drought tolerant. Behind the house are private trees that become heritage trees early: a California native oak at a trunk 10 inches across, most other species at 15, both measured 54 inches above natural grade, though a multi-trunk tree under 12 feet tall never qualifies. The ordinance requires heritage trees to be kept in good health with proper pruning, so on most lots the canopy above the gutter is there to stay and clearing under it is routine upkeep.
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Free to request, and you agree the scope and price with the person you hire before work starts. In California, a job over $1,000 in labor and materials, or one that needs a building permit, must be done by a contractor licensed by the CSLB in the right class. Ask for the license number and check it at cslb.ca.gov.
Permits and local rules
Menlo Park pages to read before anyone climbs
Zero emission landscape equipment
The city's ZELE page gives the reason for the rule: by its figures, an hour of running a gas leaf blower equals inhaling 15 hours of driving emissions, and the noise can contribute to hearing loss. Violations can be reported to the police non-emergency line for a real-time response, subject to officer availability, or through ACT Menlo Park. A July 2026 city reminder adds that officers must observe the equipment in use before citing, and that fines increase for repeat violations.
Source: City of Menlo Park Sustainability (menlopark.gov)
Heritage tree removal and pruning permits
Significant pruning, meaning removal of more than 25 percent of a heritage tree's crown or root system, needs a city permit applied for through the online portal. The application takes a heritage tree acknowledgement form, an arborist report written within 12 months by an arborist named on the city-approved list, and a tree replacement plan, required even for pruning in case the tree is damaged badly enough to come out. Only the named arborist counts, not the company; general tree work can go to other tree companies.
Source: City of Menlo Park Public Works (menlopark.gov)
Street trees on a five-year grid
The city maintains about 19,000 public trees along sidewalks, in parks and at city facilities, and residents may not remove a street tree. Pruning follows a five-year rotating schedule across 16 grid zones, and the city's interactive grid zone map shows when each block is next due. A request for work outside the cycle goes through ACT Menlo Park and is serviced as the city arborist determines, so a street tree limb resting on the gutter starts with that request.
Source: City of Menlo Park Public Works (menlopark.gov)
A storm system that ends in the creek, the channel and the Bay
The city owns and maintains more than 46 miles of storm drainage, mostly pipe, carrying runoff from its major drainage areas to San Francisquito Creek, Atherton Channel and San Francisco Bay without treatment. It names organic waste, including leaves and lawn and garden clippings, among the three main kinds of stormwater pollution, beside litter and chemicals. Its requirements sit in Municipal Code Chapter 7.42 and a regional NPDES permit that Menlo Park shares through Flows To Bay, the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program.
Source: City of Menlo Park Public Works (menlopark.gov)
State license for this work: C-43 Sheet Metal, C-39 Roofing, D-49 Tree Service. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (cslb.ca.gov).
Timing
A sweeper calendar that tightens with the leaf fall
Menlo Park's contractor sweeps every residential and commercial street once a week from November through February, every two weeks in October, March and April, and every four weeks from May through September, usually on the business day after trash collection. A clean-out booked just ahead of the weekly winter sweeps, with cars off the street on sweep day and nothing piled at the curb, leaves the street drain open for the next storm. Before a storm the city also asks residents to clear leaves from nearby drain inlets only when it is safe, away from traffic and floodwater.
Before you hire
What to settle with a Menlo Park gutter cleaner
Ask that the crew bring battery or electric blowers; under the ZELE ordinance the property owner answers for any gas blower used on site.
If a city street tree overhangs the roof, ask them to leave its limbs alone and file an ACT Menlo Park request instead.
Under a heritage oak, ask how much they would cut; past a quarter of the crown, a permit and an approved arborist's report are required.
Ask that leaves go into your green organics cart, with nothing left in the street or the curb gutter for the sweeper.
Ask where each flushed downspout will empty, aiming for lawn or planting rather than the driveway.
Questions
Menlo Park gutter questions, from blowers to the creek
Our gardener's crew uses a gas blower on the gutters. Who is responsible in Menlo Park?
You are, as the property owner. Since July 1, 2024 Menlo Park's zero-emission landscape equipment ordinance has prohibited gas-powered leaf blowers and string trimmers on residential, commercial and public property, and the city says owners must make sure landscaping work on their property complies whoever runs the equipment. Reports go to the police non-emergency line or ACT Menlo Park, and violations can bring administrative citations.
When will the city prune the street tree that fills our gutters?
Look it up on the city's interactive public tree grid zone map. Menlo Park inspects and prunes street trees on a five-year rotation through 16 zones, and the map shows when your zone is next. For work sooner than that, submit a request through ACT Menlo Park; the city arborist reviews it and decides what gets done. Residents may not remove a street tree themselves.
Can branches of our backyard oak be cut back off the roof without a permit?
Up to a point. A California native oak with a trunk 10 inches across at 54 inches above grade is a heritage tree, and removing more than a quarter of its crown or roots needs a city permit. The ordinance also bars unbalancing a heritage tree without one, and it can hold tree companies and gardeners liable along with owners, so even a modest cut is worth an arborist's opinion first.
Is there a way to check San Francisquito Creek or Atherton Channel before a big storm?
Yes. The city's storms and flooding page links creek levels and cameras for San Francisquito Creek, run by the City of Palo Alto, and a OneShoreline water-level sensor on Atherton Channel upstream of Caltrain. The city asks residents to check each monitor's timestamp and to act on official alerts and evacuation instructions, not on the readings alone. Debris in the creek is reported to its Joint Powers Authority.
Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.
menlopark.gov: Zero emission landscape equipment (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: 20260713Reminder gas powered landscaping equipment restrictions (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Heritage tree removalpruning permit for nondevelopment (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Heritage tree definition and ordinance (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Trees (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Street tree maintenance or planting (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Stormwater system (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Stormwater pollution prevention and drainage (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: 20230213 Be stormwater smart at home (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Street sweeping schedule (menlopark.gov)
menlopark.gov: Storms and flooding (menlopark.gov)
