Note: Editor's note—Ord. 2016-1020, § 2, adopted Feb. 16, 2016, amended former Ch. 16.12, §§ 16.12.010—16.12.090, in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Ch. 16.12 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. 2009-938, § 2, adopted in 2009.
A.
The
State Legislature has found that:
1.
The
waters of the State are of limited supply and are subject to ever
increasing demands;
2.
The
continuation of California's economic prosperity is dependent on the
availability of adequate supplies of water for future uses;
3.
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;
4.
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;
5.
Landscape
design, installation, maintenance, and management can and should be
water efficient; and
6.
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.
B.
The
City hereby finds that:
1.
Orange
County has an established, large reclaimed water infrastructure system;
2.
Allocation-based
and tiered water rate structures allow public agencies to document
water use in landscapes;
3.
Incentive-based
water use efficiency programs have been actively implemented within
Orange County since before 1991;
4.
Current
local design practices in new landscapes strive to achieve the intent
of the State Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance water use goals;
5.
All
water services within the City are metered and billed based on volume
of use;
6.
Orange
County is a leader in researching and promoting the use of smart irrigation
controllers with more than 12,900 installations as of June 2009 and
promotion of sustainable landscape transformation with more than 30
million square feet of turf removal;
7.
All
new irrigation controllers sold after 2012 within Orange County will
be smart irrigation controllers;
8.
Landscape
plan submittal and review has been a long standing practice in the
City; and
9.
The
average rainfall in Orange County is approximately 12 inches per year.
C.
The
local water purveyors are implementing budget-based tiered-rate structures
and/or enforcement of water waste prohibitions for all existing metered
landscaped areas throughout their service areas, which includes the
City in its entirety.
D.
Consistent with these findings, the purpose of this Chapter 16.12 is to establish an alternative model acceptable under Governor Brown's April 1, 2015 Drought Executive Order (B-29-15) as being at least as effective as the State Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance in the context of conditions in the City in order to:
1.
Promote
the benefits of consistent landscape ordinances with neighboring local
and regional agencies;
2.
Promote
the values and benefits of landscapes while recognizing the need to
invest water and other resources as efficiently as possible;
3.
Establish
a structure for planning, designing, installing, and maintaining and
managing water efficient landscapes in new construction and rehabilitated
projects;
4.
Establish
provisions for water management practices and water waste prevention
for existing landscapes;
5.
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; and
6.
Encourage
the use of economic incentives that promote the efficient use of water,
such as implementing a budget-based tiered-rate structure, providing
rebate incentives and offering educational programs.
(Ord. 2016-1020, § 2,
2016)
A.
Consistent
with Executive Order No. B-29-15, this Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance
shall apply to the following landscape projects:
1.
New
landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater
than 500 square feet, requiring a building or landscape permit, plan
check or design review;
2.
Rehabilitated
landscape projects with an aggregate landscaped area equal to or greater
than 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 2,500 square feet or less may comply with the performance requirements
of this ordinance 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 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 though stored
rainwater capture on site is subject only to Appendix A of the Guidelines.
C.
This
Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance does 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. 2016-1020, § 2,
2016)
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 16.12. 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 16.12 and the Guidelines.
C.
Landscape
and irrigation plans shall be submitted to the City for review and
approval with appropriate water use calculations.
D.
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.
E.
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. 2016-1020, § 2,
2016)
A.
For applicable landscape installation or rehabilitation projects subject to Section 16.12.020.A of this Chapter 16.12, 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. 2016-1020, § 2,
2016)
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 the Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance on behalf of the City.
(Ord. 2016-1020, § 2,
2016)
The following definitions are applicable to Chapter 16.12:
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.
means the portion of water supplied by the irrigation system
to the landscape.
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.
- 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.
means a project where the site is intentionally altered to
establish a defined, indigenous, historic ecosystem.
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.
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 (non-rehabilitated) Special Landscape
Area shall not exceed 1.0. The ETAF for existing non-rehabilitated
landscapes is 0.8.
refers to the Guidelines for Implementation of the Water
Efficient Landscape Ordinance, as adopted by the City, which describes
procedures, calculations, and requirements for landscape projects
subject to this Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
means any durable material or feature ( pervious and non-pervious
) 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 Water Efficient
Landscape Ordinance.
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 Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance are 0.75 for overhead spray
devices and 0.81 for drip systems.
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 non-pervious hardscapes, and other non-irrigated areas
designated for non-development (e.g., open spaces and existing native
vegetation).
means a person licensed by the State of California to construct,
maintain, repair, install, or subcontract the development of landscape
systems.
means the documents required to be provided to the City for
review and approval of landscape design projects, as described in
the Guidelines.
means total area of landscape in a project, as provided in the definition of "landscaped area," meeting the requirements under Section 16.12.020 of this Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
means a city or county, including a charter city or charter
county, that is authorized to implement, administer, and/or enforce
any of the provisions of the Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
The local agency may be responsible for the enforcement or delegation
of enforcement of this Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance including,
but not limited to, design review, plan check, issuance of permits,
and inspection of a landscape project.
means any entity, including a public agency, city, county,
or private water company that provides retail water service.
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)]
means any surface mining operation with a reclamation plan
approved in accordance with the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act
of 1975.
means, for the purposes of this Water Efficient Landscape
Ordinance, a new building with a landscape or other new landscape
such as a park, playground, or greenbelt without an associated building.
means any surface or natural material that does not allow
for the passage of water through the material and into the underlying
soil.
means any surface or material that allows the passage of
water through the material and into the underlying soil.
means an authorizing document issued by local agencies for
new construction or rehabilitated landscape.
is a factor, when multiplied by ETo, that estimates the amount
of water needed by plants. For purposes of this Water Efficient Landscape
Ordinance, 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 Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance
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).
means treated or recycled waste water of a quality suitable
for non-potable uses such as landscape irrigation and water features.
This water is not intended for human consumption.
means a standard measurement of environmental parameters
which affect the water use of plants. ETo is given 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 Allowance s.
means any re-landscaping project that meets the applicability criteria of Section 16.12.020(a), where the modified landscape area is greater than 2,500 square feet.
means an automatic irrigation controller utilizing either
evapotranspiration or soil moisture sensor data with non-volatile
memory, and shall be required for irrigation scheduling in all irrigation
systems, recommending U.S. EPA WaterSense labeled devices as applicable.
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.
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.
means a device used to control the flow of water in an irrigation
system.
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. 2016-1020, § 2,
2016)
