Skip to content
ChatProjectCodes

Chapter 5 — NONRESIDENTIAL MANDATORY MEASURES

Section 5.304

California Green Building Standards Code (Title 24, Part 11) · 2019 edition · updated 2026-09-12 · California

OUTDOOR WATER USE

5.304.1 Outdoor potable water use in landscape areas. Nonresidential developments shall comply with a local water efficient landscape ordinance or the current California Department of Water Resources’ Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), whichever is more stringent.

Notes:

  1. The Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) is located in the California Code of Reg- ulations, Title 23, Chapter 2.7, Division 2.

  2. MWELO and supporting documents, including a water budget calculator, are available at: https:// www.water.ca.gov/.

42 2019 CALIFORNIA GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS CODE

Copyright © 2019 ICC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Accessed by Kevin Day (kevin.day@dgs.ca.gov), (California Building Standards Commission) Order Number #100735044 on Jul 24, 2019 03:54 PM (PDT) pursuant to License Agreement with ICC. No further reproduction or distribution authorized. Single user only, copying and networking prohibited. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION IS A VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL COPYRIGHT ACT AND THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, AND SUBJECT TO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES THEREUNDER.

100735044

5.304.6 Outdoor potable water use in landscape areas. For public schools and community colleges, landscape projects as described in Sections 5.304.6.1 and 5.304.6.2 shall comply with the California Department of Water Resources Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) commencing with Section 490 of Chapter 2.7, Division 2, Title 23, California Code of Regulations, except that the evapotranspiration adjustment factor (ETAF) shall be 0.65 with an additional water allowance for special landscape areas (SLA) of 0.35.

Exception: Any project with an aggregate landscape area of 2,500 square feet or less may comply with the prescriptive measures contained in Appendix D of the MWELO.

5.304.6.1 Newly constructed landscapes. New construction projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater than 500 square feet.

5.304.6.2 Rehabilitated landscapes. Rehabilitated landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater than 1,200 square feet.

Get a plain-English answer with a citation back to this text.

Ask AI about this code
Export this section
▸Contents — California Green Building Standards Code (Title 24, Part 11)
California Green Building Standards Code (Title 24, Part 11)
  1. Chapter 1 — ADMINISTRATION
  2. Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS
  3. Chapter 3 — GREEN BUILDING
  4. Chapter 4 — RESIDENTIAL MANDATORY MEASURES
  5. ▸Chapter 5 — NONRESIDENTIAL MANDATORY MEASURES
    Overview
    1. Section 5.101
    2. Section 5.102
    3. Section 5.103
    4. Section 5.104
    5. Section 5.105
    6. Section 5.106
    7. Section 5.201
    8. Section 5.301
    9. Section 5.302
    10. Section 5.303
    11. Section 5.304
    12. Section 5.305
    13. Section 5.401
    14. Section 5.402
    15. Section 5.403
    16. Section 5.404
    17. Section 5.405
    18. Section 5.406
    19. Section 5.407
    20. Section 5.408
    21. Section 5.409
    22. Section 5.410
    23. Section 5.501
    24. Section 5.502
    25. Section 5.503
    26. Section 5.504
    27. Section 5.508 OUTDOOR AIR QUALITY
    28. Section 5.505
    29. Section 5.506
    30. Section 5.507
  6. Chapter 6 — REFERENCED ORGANIZATIONS AND STANDARDS
  7. Chapter 7 — INSTALLER AND SPECIAL INSPECTOR QUALIFICATIONS
  8. Chapter 8 — COMPLIANCE FORMS, WORKSHEETS AND REFERENCE MATERIAL
  9. Appendix A4
  10. Appendix A5

GoCodebook provides public access, search, citation, multilingual explanation, and practical interpretation of legally adopted building regulations. It is not a substitute for the official ICC or California code publications.