Water Efficient Landscape Law Approved by Malibu City Council

• Ordinances Have to Be in Place by the Beginning of 2010

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council recently adopted a new ordinance to create water conservation standards that generally follow or, as city officials put it, “are as effective” as the updated state water efficient landscape law.
Assembly Bill 1881 required the Department of Water Resources to revise the state model ordinance and requires all cities and counties to adopt ordinances by the beginning of next year that are comparable to the updated state law.
For local agencies that do not adopt their own equivalent local ordinance by the deadline, the state ordinance becomes effective by rule of law, according to city officials.
Known as the state model water efficient landscape ordinance, the measure was created as a result of the last major drought in the early 1990s. The state at that time adopted a model ordinance in 1992 and in 1993. The city council adopted an equivalent to the state model at that time.
“This original state model ordinance primarily affected larger, developer-installed, nonresidential projects and consequently the locally adopted standards based on that ordinance have not been implemented,” states a city staff report.
That prompted the Statewide Landscape Task Force to recommend changes to the original state law resulting in the passage of AB 1881.
“The DWR was required to revise the state model and requires all cities and counties to adopt ordinances by Jan. 1, 2010,” a municipal staff report states.
What came out of that was the city’s Ordinance 343. Municipal staffers indicated, based on the state’s updated version, they were able to create an ordinance that will increase water use efficiency by establishing water budgets, promoting installation and maintenance of efficient irrigation systems and encouraging the use of plants that use water efficiently based on climate, soil type and site features, while at the same time reducing water waste that occurs from irrigation runoff and overspray.
The ordinance, according to municipal officials, includes land and irrigation design standards that provide for water conservation by the appropriate use and groupings of plants that are well adapted to local conditions.
The ordinance will also put limitations on the amount and locations that turf can be used and requirements that water wise plants native to the Santa Monica Mountains be used outside irrigated fuel modification zones.
Water budget calculations were devised to establish the maximum amount of water to be applied through the irrigation systems. Automatic irrigation systems and irrigation schedules should be based on climatic conditions, terrains and soil types and other environmental conditions and onsite soil assessment and soil management plans should be put in place to promote healthy plant growth and prevent excessive erosion and runoff.
The ordinance will apply to new or altered landscape areas proposed as part of projects that require a city permit, according to municipal planners.
“For single-family residences, square footage thresholds determine when the ordinance would apply. For a new residence, the ordinance applies to projects with landscape areas of 2500 square feet or more, while for an existing residence, it applies when the new or altered landscape area is 5000 square feet or more. However, exceptions to the ordinance are allowed upon a finding that an alternative design will promote equivalent or greater water conservation,” the staff report goes on to state.
The new law requires the landscape architect to certify that the plans comply with the ordinance requirements. Planners will require applicants to obtain approval of the landscape documentation prior to construction. Guidelines will be developed that include sample calculations.