Chapter 9-47
LANDSCAPE WATER EFFICIENCY
Sections:
9-47.030 Implementation procedures.
9-47.040 Landscape water use standards.
9-47.010 Purpose.
The State Legislature has found that:
A. The waters of the state are of limited supply and are subject to ever-increasing demands;
B. The continuation of California’s economic prosperity is dependent on the availability of adequate supplies of water for future uses;
C. It is the policy of the state to promote the conservation and efficient use of water and to prevent the waste of this valuable resource;
D. Landscapes are essential to the quality of life in California by providing areas for active and passive recreation and as an enhancement to the environment by cleaning air and water, preventing erosion, offering fire protection, and replacing ecosystems lost to development;
E. Landscape design, installation, maintenance, and management can and should be water efficient; and
F. Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution specifies that the right to use water is limited to the amount reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served, and the right does not and shall not extend to waste or unreasonable method of use of water.
(Ord. 2016-1 § 5 (Exh. A) (part))
9-47.020 Applicability.
A. This chapter shall apply to the following landscape projects:
1. New landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater than five hundred (500) square feet, requiring a building or landscape permit, plan check or design review;
2. Rehabilitated landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet, requiring a building or landscape permit, plan check or design review;
3. New or rehabilitated landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area of two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet or less may comply with the performance requirements of this chapter or conform to the prescriptive measures contained in Appendix A of the Guidelines;
4. New or rehabilitated projects using treated or untreated graywater or rainwater capture on site, any lot or parcels within the project that has less than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet of landscape area and meets the lot or parcel’s landscape water requirement (estimated total water use) entirely with the treated or untreated graywater or through stored rainwater capture on site is subject only to Appendix A of the Guidelines.
B. Section 9-47.040B shall apply to:
1. All landscaped areas, whether installed prior to or after January 1, 2010; and
2. All landscaped areas installed after February 1, 2016, to which subsection A of this section is applicable.
C. This chapter shall not apply to:
1. Registered local, state, or federal historical sites;
2. Ecological restoration projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system;
3. Mined-land reclamation projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system; or
4. Plant collections, as part of botanical gardens and arboretums open to the public.
(Ord. 2016-1 § 5 (Exh. A) (part); Ord. 2009-7 § 2 (part). Formerly 9-47.010)
9-47.030 Implementation procedures.
A. Prior to installation, a landscape documentation package shall be submitted to the city for review and approval of all landscape projects subject to the provisions of this chapter. Any landscape documentation package submitted to the city shall comply with the provisions of the Guidelines.
B. The landscape documentation package shall include a certification by a professional appropriately licensed in the state of California stating that the landscape design and water use calculations have been prepared by or under the supervision of the licensed professional and are certified to be in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and its Guidelines.
1. Landscape and irrigation plans shall be submitted to the city for review and approval with appropriate water use calculations. Water use calculations shall be consistent with calculations contained in the Guidelines and shall be provided to the local water purveyor, as appropriate, under procedures determined by the city.
2. Verification of compliance of the landscape installation with the approved plans shall be obtained through a certification of completion in conjunction with a certificate of use and occupancy or permit final process, as provided in the Guidelines.
(Ord. 2016-1 § 5 (Exh. A) (part); Ord. 2009-7 § 2 (part). Formerly 9-47.020)
9-47.040 Landscape water use standards.
A. For applicable landscape installation or rehabilitation projects subject to Section 9-47.020A, the estimated applied water use allowed for the landscaped area shall not exceed the MAWA calculated using an ET adjustment factor of 0.55 for residential areas and 0.45 for nonresidential areas, except for special landscaped areas where the MAWA is calculated using an ET adjustment factor of 1.0; or the design of the landscaped area shall otherwise be shown to be equivalently water-efficient in a manner acceptable to the city, as provided in the Guidelines.
B. Irrigation of all landscaped areas shall be conducted in a manner conforming to the rules and requirements, and shall be subject to penalties and incentives for water conservation and water waste prevention as determined and implemented by the local water purveyor or as mutually agreed by local water purveyor and the local agency.
(Ord. 2016-1 § 5 (Exh. A) (part); Ord. 2009-7 § 2 (part). Formerly 9-47.030)
9-47.050 Delegation.
The city may delegate to, or enter into a contract with, a local agency to implement, administer, and/or enforce any of the provisions of this chapter on behalf of the city. (Ord. 2016-1 § 5 (Exh. A) (part); Ord. 2009-7 § 2 (part). Formerly 9-47.040)
9-47.060 Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
“Aggregate landscape areas” pertains to the areas undergoing development as one project or for production home neighborhoods or other situations where multiple parcels are undergoing development as one project, but will eventually be individually owned.
“Applied water” means the portion of water supplied by the irrigation system to the landscape.
“Budget-based tiered-rate structure” means tiered or block rates for irrigation accounts charged by the retail water agency in which the block definition for each customer is derived from lot size or irrigated area and the evapotranspiration requirements of landscaping.
Community Aesthetics Evaluation. While not subject to a permit, plan check or design review, the community aesthetics evaluation may be performed to ensure the aesthetic standards of the community and irrigation efficiency intent is maintained.
“Ecological restoration project” means a project where the site is intentionally altered to establish a defined, indigenous, historic ecosystem.
“Estimated applied water use” means the average annual total amount of water estimated to be necessary to keep plants in a healthy state, calculated as provided in the Guidelines. It is based on the reference evapotranspiration rate, the size of the landscape area, plant water use factors, and the relative irrigation efficiency of the irrigation system.
“Evapotranspiration adjustment factor” or “ETAF” of 0.55 for residential areas and 0.45 for nonresidential areas, that, when applied to reference evapotranspiration, adjusts for plant factors and irrigation efficiency, two major influences upon the amount of water that needs to be applied to the landscape. The ETAF for new and existing (nonrehabilitated) special landscape area shall not exceed 1.0. The ETAF for existing nonrehabilitated landscapes is 0.8.
“Guidelines” refers to the Guidelines for Implementation of Chapter 9-47, as adopted by the City, which describes procedures, calculations, and requirements for landscape projects subject to this chapter.
“Hardscapes” means any durable material or feature (pervious and nonpervious) installed in or around a landscaped area, such as pavements or walls. Pools and other water features are considered part of the landscaped area and not considered hardscapes for purposes of this chapter.
“Irrigation efficiency” means the measurement of the amount of water beneficially used divided by the amount of water applied. Irrigation efficiency is derived from measurements and estimates of irrigation system characteristics and management practices. The irrigation efficiency for purposes of this chapter is 0.75 for overhead spray devices and 0.81 for drip systems.
“Landscape contractor” means a person licensed by the state of California to construct, maintain, repair, install, or subcontract the development of landscape systems.
“Landscape documentation package” means the documents required to be provided to the city for review and approval of landscape design projects, as described in the Guidelines.
“Landscape project” means total area of landscape in a project, as provided in the definition of “landscaped area,” meeting the requirements under Section 9-47.020.
“Landscaped area” means all the planting areas, turf areas, and water features in a landscape design plan subject to the maximum applied water allowance and estimated applied water use calculations. The landscaped area does not include footprints of buildings or structures, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, decks, patios, gravel or stone walks, other pervious or nonpervious hardscapes, and other nonirrigated areas designated for nondevelopment (e.g., open spaces and existing native vegetation).
“Local agency” means a local water purveyor or city or county, including a charter city or charter county, that is authorized to implement, administer, and/or enforce any of the provisions of this chapter. The local agency may be responsible for the enforcement or delegation of enforcement of this chapter, including, but not limited to, design review, plan check, issuance of permits, and inspection of a landscape project.
“Local water purveyor” means any entity, including a public agency, city, county, or private water company that provides retail water service.
“Maximum applied water allowance” or “MAWA” means the upper limit of annual applied water for the established landscaped area as specified in Section 2.2 of the Guidelines. It is based upon the area’s reference evapotranspiration, the ET adjustment factor, and the size of the landscaped area. The estimated applied water use shall not exceed the maximum applied water allowance. MAWA = (ETo) (0.62) [(ETAF x LA) + ((1-ETAF) x SLA)]
“Mined-land reclamation projects” means any surface mining operation with a reclamation plan approved in accordance with the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975.
“New construction” means, for the purposes of this chapter, a new building with a landscape or other new landscape such as a park, playground, or greenbelt without an associated building.
“Nonpervious” means any surface or natural material that does not allow for the passage of water through the material and into the underlying soil.
“Permit” means an authorizing document issued by local agencies for new construction or rehabilitated landscape.
“Pervious” means any surface or material that allows the passage of water through the material and into the underlying soil.
“Plant factor” or “plant water use factor” is a factor, when multiplied by ETo, that estimates the amount of water needed by plants. For purposes of this chapter, the plant factor range for very low water use plants is 0 to 0.1; the plant factor range for low water use plants is 0 to 0.3; the plant factor range for moderate water use plants is 0.4 to 0.6; and the plant factor range for high water use plants is 0.7 to 1.0. Plant factors cited in this chapter are derived from the publication “Water Use Classification of Landscape Species.” Plant factors may also be obtained from horticultural researchers from academic institutions or professional associations as approved by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).
“Recycled water” or “reclaimed water” means treated or recycled waste water of a quality suitable for nonpotable uses such as landscape irrigation and water features. This water is not intended for human consumption.
“Reference evapotranspiration” or “ETo” means a standard measurement of environmental parameters which affect the water use of plants. ETo is expressed in inches per day, month, or year as represented in Appendix A of the Guidelines, and is an estimate of the evapotranspiration of a large field of four- to seven-inch-tall, cool-season grass that is well watered. Reference evapotranspiration is used as the basis of determining the maximum applied water allowances.
“Rehabilitated landscape” means any re-landscaping project that meets the applicability criteria of Section 9-47.020 where the modified landscape area is greater than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet.
“Smart irrigation controller” means an automatic irrigation controller utilizing either evapotranspiration or soil moisture sensor data with nonvolatile memory that shall be required for irrigation scheduling in all irrigation systems, recommending U.S. EPA WaterSense labeled devices as applicable.
“Special landscape area” means an area of the landscape dedicated solely to edible plants such as orchards and vegetable gardens, areas irrigated with recycled water, water features using recycled water, and recreational areas dedicated to active play such as parks, sports fields, golf courses, and where turf provides a playing surface.
“Turf” means a ground cover surface of mowed grass. Annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, red fescue, and tall fescue are cool-season grasses. Bermudagrass, kikuyugrass, seashore paspalum, St. Augustinegrass, zoysiagrass, and buffalo grass are warm-season grasses.
“Valve” means a device used to control the flow of water in an irrigation system.
“Water feature” means a design element where open water performs an aesthetic or recreational function. Water features include ponds, lakes, waterfalls, fountains, artificial streams, spas, and swimming pools (where water is artificially supplied). The surface area of water features is included in the high water use hydrozone of the landscaped area. Constructed wetlands used for on-site wastewater treatment, habitat protection or storm water best management practices that are not irrigated and used solely for water treatment or storm water retention are not water features and, therefore, are not subject to the water budget calculation. (Ord. 2016-1 § 5 (Exh. A) (part); Ord. 2009-7 § 2 (part). Formerly 9-47.050)