City of Atascadero, CA WATER EFFICIENT LANDSCAPE AND IRRIGATION

Consistent with California State law, it is the purpose of this chapter to:

Promote the values and benefits of landscapes that integrate and go beyond the conservation and efficient use of water.

Establish a structure for planning, designing, installing, maintaining, and managing water efficient landscapes in new construction and rehabilitated projects by encouraging the use of a watershed approach that required cross-sector collaboration of industry, government and property owners to achieve the many benefits possible.

(c)

Establish provisions for water management practices and water wise prevention for existing landscapes.

(d)

Use water efficiently without waste by setting a maximum applied water allowance as an upper limit for water use and reduce water use to the lowest practical amount.

(Ord. 662 § 6, 2023)

This section is intended to comply with the State's Model Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance, and standards found in 23 CCR, Division 2, Chapter 2.7.

(a)

Property owners or their building or landscape designers, including anyone requiring a building or planning permit, plan check, or landscape design review from the City, who are constructing a new (single-family, multifamily, public, institutional, or commercial) project with a landscape requirement area greater than 500 square feet, or rehabilitating an existing landscape under City review jurisdiction with a total landscape area greater than 2,500 square feet, shall comply with Section 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D), and (G) of the MWELO, including sections related to use of compost and mulch as delineated in this chapter.

(b)

Property owners or their building or landscape designers that meet the threshold for MWELO compliance outlined in subsection (a) above shall:

(1)

Comply with Section 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D), and (G) of the MWELO, which requires the submittal of a landscape design plan with a soil preparation, mulch, and amendments section to include the following:

(i)

For landscape installations, compost at a rate of a minimum of four cubic yards per 1,000 square feet of permeable area shall be incorporated to a depth of six inches into the soil. Soils with greater than 6% organic matter in the top six inches of soil are exempt from adding compost and tilling.

(ii)

For landscape installations, a minimum three inch layer of mulch shall be applied on all exposed soil surfaces of planting areas except in turf areas, creeping or rooting groundcovers, or direct seeding applications where mulch is contraindicated. To provide habitat for beneficial insects and other wildlife up to 5% of the landscape area may be left without mulch. Designated insect habitat must be included in the landscape design plan as such.

(iii)

Organic mulch materials made from recycled or post-consumer materials shall take precedence over inorganic materials or virgin forest products unless the recycled post-consumer organic products are not locally available. Organic mulches are not required where prohibited by local fuel modification plan guidelines or other applicable local ordinances.

(2)

The MWELO compliance items listed in this section are not an inclusive list of MWELO requirements; therefore, property owners or their building or landscape designers that meet the threshold for MWELO compliance outlined in this chapter shall consult the full MWELO for all requirements.

(c)

If, after the adoption of this chapter, the California Department of Water Resources, or its successor agency, amends 23 CCR, Division 2, Chapter 2.7, Section 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D), and (G) of the MWWELO September 15, 2015 requirements in a manner that requires City to incorporate the requirements of an updated MWELO in a local ordinance, and the amended requirements include provisions more stringent than those required in this section, the revised requirements of 23 CCR, Division 2, Chapter 2.7 shall be enforced.

(Ord. 662 § 6, 2023)