Pismo Beach Municipal Code Ch. 15.48 Water-Efficient Landscape Standards and Requirements

A. The "Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance" (MWELO) of the State of California, as contained in California Code of Regulations Title 23 Waters, Division 2 Department of Water Resources, Chapter 2.7 Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, Sections 490 et seq. is hereby adopted by reference as the water efficient landscape ordinance of the City of Pismo Beach, as the same may be amended from time to time, as if set out in full in this chapter. "Local agency" in the model water efficient landscape ordinance shall mean the City of Pismo Beach.

B. 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, multi-family, public, institutional, or commercial) project with a landscape area greater than five hundred (500) square feet, or rehabilitating an existing landscape with a total landscape area greater than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet, shall comply with Sections 492.6(a)(3)(B) (C), (D), and (G) of the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, including sections related to use of compost and mulch as amended September 15, 2015.

C. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the MWELO or the regulations outlined in this chapter, new irrigated turf areas shall be prohibited for all development beginning May 18, 2022, and continuing until this subsection is repealed based on local drought conditions. During this prohibition, artificial turf installed that allows appropriate water infiltration based on the site's soil conditions is permitted to account for any landscape required to be installed pursuant to the Pismo Beach Municipal Code.

(Ord. O-2022-004 § 2, 2022; Ord. O-2021-004 § 3, 2021; Ord. O-2020-001, § 8, 2020)