O2498Council Meeting: November 10, 2015 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2qql� (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
UPDATING CHAPTER 8.108 SUBPART A OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE RELATED TO LANDSCAPING, LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION AND WATER
CONSERVATION
WHEREAS, in recent years there has been both worldwide and local concerns
raised about escalating water costs and the effects of global warming; and
WHEREAS, the State of California, including the City of Santa Monica, suffers from
recurring severe drought conditions and even during non -drought periods water is a
scarce resource throughout Southern California; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica receives on average less than 15 inches of
precipitation annually and in some years precipitation can be as little as 3 inches; and
WHEREAS, in recent years the City of Santa Monica has relied almost exclusively
on water imported from Northern California or from the Colorado River to meet its water
needs; and
WHEREAS, the imported water supply from Northern California and from the
Colorado River cannot be reliably depended upon by the City of Santa Monica due to
reoccurring drought conditions throughout the western United States, and due to federal
and state regulations limiting such water for urban uses; and
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WHEREAS, conservation of water is critically important if the City of Santa Monica
is to sustain itself, survive drought as well as emergencies and natural disasters; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica has a goal to be water self-sufficient by 2020;
WHEREAS, water shortage conditions within the State of California and within the
City of Santa Monica can arise on short notice as a result of drought, natural disaster, or
other emergency events that critically impact the availability of water. As a result, the
residents and business operators of the City of Santa Monica live under an almost
constant threat of water shortage; and
WHEREAS, inefficient irrigation devices and watering practices, particularly
related to maintenance of landscapes, result in the waste of ever scarcer water resources;
and
WHEREAS, high water -demanding plant materials represent enormous drains on
the City's already limited water resources; and
WHEREAS, water features with large surface areas require significant amounts of
water to refill, due to surface evaporation, thus creating an unnecessarily high water
demand on the City's limited water resources; and
WHEREAS, the City is committed to reducing inefficient use of water resources for
irrigation so as to maximize the availability of potable water for essential residential and
business uses; and
WHEREAS, the standards and requirements set forth in this ordinance are
consistent in principle with the goals, objectives, policies, land uses and programs
specified in the adopted General Pian; and
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WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65595 mandates the creation of an
updated statewide model water efficient landscape ordinance, which would apply to all
municipalities in California, unless a local agency adopted a local water -efficient
landscape ordinance that is, based on evidence in the record, at least as effective in
conserving water as the state-wide model ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the Governor's Executive Order (B-19-25) required the State Model
Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance to be updated in response to the historic drought in
California; and
WHEREAS, on July 15, 2015 the State Model Water Efficient Landscape
Ordinance was updated; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica has a long standing commitment to
leadership in water and other resource conservation, and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica continues to be committed toward exceeding
the standards set out in the State Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, requiring prescriptive landscape measures meets in lieu of a water
budget meets and, in some instances, exceeds the State Model Water Efficient
Landscape Ordinance's conservation targets; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting inefficient irrigation devices, such as overhead sprinklers,
will conserve potable water resources and prevents unnecessary urban runoff-, and
WHEREAS, prohibiting high water using turf grass on commercial properties and
on public street medians will also serve to conserve potable water resources.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1. Section 8.108.090 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
8.108.090 Definitions.
For purposes of Subpart A of this Chapter, the following words or phrases shall be
defined as follows:
(a) Maintenance. The upkeep of any landscaped area, landscaping or irrigation
system.
(b) Modifications. Replacement or addition to any existing landscaping or
irrigation system.
Code.
(c) New Development. New construction projects as defined by Article IX of this
Section 2. Section 8.108.100 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
8.108.100 Requirements.
(a) All New Development projects, including projects undertaken by a public
agency, must comply with the following requirements:
(1) Compliance with the adopted Water -Efficient Landscape and Irrigation
Standards.
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(2) Submission of plans and reports to the City for review and approval prior
to the installation of landscaping and/or irrigation system. The required plans under this
subsection may include: landscape plan, hydrozone matrix, irrigation plan, and any other
plans or reports as deemed necessary by the Manager of the Office of Sustainability and
the Environment, consistent with the purpose and requirements of this Subpart.
(3) No final certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the landscaping and/or
irrigation system has been installed and demonstrated to operate in full compliance with
this Code.
(b) Modifications to any existing landscaping or irrigation system or installation of
any new landscaping or irrigation system not associated with New Development projects,
including such activities undertaken by a public agency, must comply with the adopted
Water -Efficient Landscape and Irrigation Standards.
(c) Maintenance of any existing landscaping or irrigation system, including such
maintenance activities undertaken by a public agency, must comply with the Maintenance
Section of the adopted Water -Efficient Landscape and Irrigation Standards.
(d) New water feature installations must comply with the requirements of the
Water Features Section of the adopted Water -Efficient Landscape and Irrigation
Standards.
Section 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
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inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to
effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of
this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official
newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30
days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARSHA JONES MOUTR
City ttorney ,
C.
Approved and adopted this 10th day of November, 2015.
Kevin McKeown, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 2498 (CCS) had its introduction on October 27,
2015, and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on
November 10, 2015, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers; Davis, Himmelrich, O'Connor, O'Day, Winterer
Mayor McKeown, Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
A summary of Ordinance No. 2498 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806,
ATTEST:
arah P. Gorman, City Clerk