Los Angeles Municipal Code Art. IV Large Turf Water Conservation Regulations

(Added by Ord. No. 163,532, Eff. 4/28/88.)

Section 124.00 Title and Purpose. 124.01 Scope. 124.02 Definitions. 124.03 Water Conservation Requirements for Large Turf Areas. 124.04 Surcharge for Violation of Requirements in Section 124.03. 124.05 Appellate Relief.

This article shall be known as Large Turf Water Conservation Regulations . The City Council, in order to effectively address potential problems concerning existing and projected water supply shortages and the City’s ability to handle ever increasing wastewater flow in the City sewage system, hereby implements this conservation program.

The provisions of this article shall apply to all persons who own, rent, lease or otherwise control the use of real property in the City of Los Angeles which contains or encompasses a large turf area.

(a) “Base year” shall mean 1986.

(b) “Large turf area” shall mean an area continuing at least three acres of turf.

(c) “Owner” shall mean any person, partnership, association, company, corporation or fiduciary in whom or in which is vested legal title to real property improved with residential, commercial or industrial buildings, or who or which possesses the power to convey legal title to the real property.

(a) Owners of large turf areas in the City of Los Angeles shall reduce or caused to be reduced by ten percent the amount of water used for landscape irrigation purposes on large turf areas. The ten percent reduction shall be calculated based on the corresponding billing period in the base year.

(b) Owners of large turf areas shall comply with the requirements of Subsection (a) of this section by October 13,1988.

(c) Owners of large turf areas who install water conservation devices that are specifically designed or manufactured, as determined by the Department of Water and Power, to reduce water consumption by at least ten percent shall be deemed to have complied with this section.

(d) The provisions of this sections shall not apply to those owners of large turf areas who are determined by the Department of Water and Power to use reclaimed water for landscape irrigation purposes.

If an owner of a large turf area fails to comply with the requirements of Section 124.03 within 182 days of the date set for compliance in Section 124.03, the Department of Water and Power shall thereafter charge the owner a ten percent surcharge on the charges for water used for the property in violation, for each billing period until the owner complies or until the 365th day following the date set for compliance in Section 124.03, whichever occurs first.

If, after 365 days following the date set for compliance in Section 124.03, the owner is still in violation, the Department of Water and Power shall increase the surcharge to twenty-five percent on the charges for water used for the property in violation, for each billing period until the owner complies or until the 547th day following the date set for compliance in Section 124.03, whichever occurs first.

If, after the 547th day following the date set for compliance in Section 124.03, the owner still has not complied with these requirements, then the Department shall increase the surcharge to fifty percent on the charges for water used for the property in violation, for each billing period until the owner complies or until the 729th day following the date set for compliance in Section 124.03, whichever occurs first.

If, after the 729th day following the date set for compliance in Section 124.03, the owner still has not complied with these requirements, then the Department shall increase the surcharge to one hundred percent on the charges for water used for the property in violation, for each billing period until the owner complies.

Charges collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Water Revenue Fund.

(Amended by Ord. No. 166,374, Eff. 12/8/90.)

Appeals from determinations by the Department of Water and Power pursuant to Sections 124.03 and 124.04 shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 121.11 F.* of the Los Angeles Municipal Code.

• Note: Former Section 121.11 ("Conservation Appeal Boards") was removed by Ord. No. 180,148, Eff. 8/25/08.