8.20.110 Model water efficient landscaping ordinance requirements.

(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 area greater than five hundred square feet, or rehabilitating an existing landscape with a total landscape area greater than two thousand five hundred square feet, shall comply with Sections 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D), and (G) of the MWELO, including sections related to compost and mulch use as delineated in this section.

(B) The following MWELO compost and mulch use requirements are now also included as requirements of this section.

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

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

(a) For landscape installations, compost a minimum of four cubic yards per one thousand square feet of permeable area incorporated to a six inches soil depth. Soils with greater than six percent organic matter in the top six inches of soil are exempt from adding compost and tilling.

(b) For landscape installations, a minimum three-inch layer of mulch shall be applied on all exposed planting areas soil surfaces 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 five percent of the landscape area may be left without mulch. Designated insect habitat must be included in the landscape design plan as such.

(c) 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 MWELO compliance threshold outlined in this section shall consult the full MWELO for all requirements.

(D) 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, Sections 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D), and (G) of the MWELO September 15, 2015 requirements, the city shall update the local MWELO ordinance. If the amended MWELO requirements are more stringent than those required in this section, the revised 23 CCR, Division 2, Chapter 2. 7 requirements shall be enforced.