(A) Landscaping minimum standards and guidelines. The landscaping standards in this subchapter are established to set forth minimum standards and guidelines for the design, maintenance and installation of water-efficient landscaping and irrigation systems. Landscaping shall be utilized to enhance the visual quality of the environment, to reduce heat and glare, to identify building entries, to provide shade, to relieve the monotony of long expanses of building and walls, to control soil erosion and to buffer areas and land uses potentially incompatible with one another.
(B) Water conservation. Water conservation measures shall be addressed through the water-efficient landscape and irrigation design. Sustainable landscapes are encouraged through actions that conserve and recycle the resources invested in landscapes.
(C) Legislative direction. The California State Legislature has found:
(1) That waters resources in California are of limited supply and are subject to ever-increasing demands.
(2) That the continuation of California's economic prosperity is dependent on the availability of adequate supplies of water for future uses.
(3) That 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) That 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) That landscape design, installation, maintenance and management can and should be water efficient.
(6) That Cal. Const. Art. X, §2 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.
(Ord. 1346, passed 5-2-12; Am. Ord. 1379, passed 11-4-15)