Santa Monica to see fewer sidewalk puddles, more drought-resistant lawns

Tired of being sprayed by sprinklers? If the sight of puddles on sidewalks in our drought-prone state makes you cringe, you'll be glad to know Santa Monica's passed some new landscaping laws. On Earth Day last month, the Santa Monica City Council passed an ordinance for new building construction that not only limits turf-grass lawns but also prohibits putting sprinklers within 18 inches of concrete sidewalks.

That's right. New buildings -- including single family homes -- must limit their turf-grass lawns to just 20% or less of the total landscaped area. According to Santa Monica Council member Kevin McKeown, "residential lawns suck water at a rate that makes imposing low-flow showers in apartment buildings almost a joke."

The new landscaping rules -- which are part of a larger revision to the city's Green Building Design code -- are scheduled to go into effect on May 22.

Unfortunately, existing overwatered lawns in your 'hood likely won't be affected; the ordinance applies only to new or significantly remodeled buildings. Still, edible gardening, drought-resistant landscaping and local, organic succulent plant companies will likely get much, much more love in the years to come. And cactus shopping looks like it'll get more popular too.

Below is an excerpt of the ordinance that refers to landscaping rules. You also can read the text of the entire ordinance, or the staff recommendations to the City Council that informed the ordinance.

Relatedly: If you missed Steve Lopez's column about how one Glendale family planted an eco-friendly garden -- and risked jail time, read it now.

Prior to issuance of a building permit, landscaping and irrigation plans shall be submitted for review and approval in a manner prescribed by this Code.  No Certificate of Occupancy nor final building permit shall be issued until the landscaping and irrigation system has been installed and demonstrated to operate in full compliance with this Code.

(a) The design and installation of all projects must conform to the current edition of Guidelines for the Design & Construction of Water-Efficient Irrigation Systems in the City of Santa Monica issued by the Director of Environmental and Public Works Management (EPWM).  These Guidelines shall reflect and effectuate the purpose of this Subpart B and shall include, but not be limited to consideration of the following elements: quality assurance, design requirements, and installation requirements.  The Guidelines are intended to reduce the amount of potable water used for landscape irrigation in the City and to ensure that the potable water that is used for landscape irrigation is used efficiently and effectively. 

(b) The maximum area permitted for turfgrass shall be twenty percent of the total landscaped area on the site.  The landscaped area shall exclude  building footprints and impermeable hardscapes, but shall include the parkway if any. Higher percentages may be permitted when turfgrass is an essential component of the development approved in writing by the Director of EPWM. Plants used in non-turf areas, rated as having high water needs for Region 3 in the current edition of WUCOLS shall be counted as turfgrass for this calculation. Alternative documentation of water use may be presented for plants not listed in WUCOLS.

(c) Plants listed in the current Invasive Plant Inventory for the southwest region by the California Invasive Plant Council are not permitted..

(d) No sprinkler irrigation shall be permitted to be located within eighteen inches of any impermeable hardscape unless the hardscape is designed and constructed to drain entirely to landscaping.

(e)  Irrigation systems must be designed and installed in such a manner that a precipitation rate of 0.75 inches is not exceeded in any portion of the landscape.

(f)   Fountains, ponds or other decorative water features, excluding swimming pools or spas, shall have a footprint of less than 25 square feet in area.  Larger water features shall be prohibited unless they are approved in writing by the Director of EPWM.  All allowed water features shall use a water recirculation system.  All water sprayed into the air from allowed water features must remain within the water feature and shall not be allowed to spray or run onto surrounding landscape or hardscape areas.

(g)  All newly planted trees shall be planted in permeable soil.

Photo by Esther Perez via Flickr

Comments

[m]

How do grass covered golf courses fit into the whole water usage picture? How are they even permitted in Los Angeles? It seems like they would be a huge waste of water unless they have some magical water recycling system in place.....

[Sally]

Thank you! I had been thinking I was the only one who found these perfect green patches were creepy. They are the SUVs of the landscaping world.