NEW LANDSCAPING REGULATIONS!

Significant changes are taking place throughout California that are designed to minimize water consumption associated with landscaping.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES?
The state law requiring outdoor water conservation, AB 1881, has some very specific requirements. In general, the AB 1881 encourages the efficient water use by establishing guidelines for designing, installing and maintaining landscapes. Specifically, some of the landscaping guidelines in AB 1881 include:

• Restricting overhead spray irrigation within 24 inches of a non-permeable surface.
• Requiring drip irrigation or other low volume irrigation on slopes greater than 25 percent.
• Using weather-based irrigation controllers.
• Incorporating planting designs based on plant water needs.

The County of Los Angeles also developed a Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Ordinance that establishes minimum standards for the design and installation of landscaping using drought-tolerant and native plants that require minimal use of water and went into effect on 01/01/2009. Some of the details of the ordinance are:

• 75 percent of proposed landscaping consist of drought-tolerant species.
• Grass and turf areas are limited to a maximum of 25 percent of all landscaping, up to a maximum of 5,000 square feet.
• All turf must be a water-efficient species and cannot be planted in strips less than five feet wide.
• Plants must be grouped according to similar watering needs.

The text of AB 1881 can be found here. The text of the Los Angeles County Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Ordinance can be found here. These legislative measures, when combined with the incentives that are offered, are encouraging thousands of property owners to switch to sustainable landscaping.

COMPLYING WITH THE NEW REGULATIONS
La Loma can help you make sure your landscape is also compliant by taking these steps:

• Auditing  your irrigation system to ensure there is no waste and convert overhead sprinklers to drip irrigation systems.
• Replace the impermeable surfaces in your hardscape with ones that are permeable.
• Replace your lawn with native or drought tolerant plants.
• Add mulch to retain moisture in the soil.