(a)

The state legislature has found that:

(1)

The waters of the state are of limited supply and are subject to ever increasing demands.

(2)

The continuation of California's economic prosperity is dependent on the availability of adequate supplies of water for future uses.

(3)

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)

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)

Landscape design, installation, maintenance, and management can and should be water efficient.

(6)

Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution 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 of water.

(Ord. No. NS-2891, § 2, 2-2-16)

(a)

Beginning March 2, 2016, and consistent with Executive Order No. (B-29-15) this article shall apply to the following landscape projects:

(1)

New landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater than five hundred (500) requiring a building or landscape permit, plan check or development review.

(2)

Rehabilitated landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet, requiring a building or landscape permit, plan check, or development review.

(3)

New or rehabilitated landscape projects with an aggregate landscape of two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet or less may comply with the performance requirements of this ordinance or conform to the prescriptive measures contained in the Guidelines for Implementation of the City of Santa Ana Water Efficient Landscape ("Guidelines") Appendix A as amended from time to time.

(4)

New or rehabilitated projects using recycled water or rain water captured on site, any lot or parcels within the project that has less than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet of landscape area and meets the lot or parcel's landscape water requirement (Estimated Total Water Use) entirely with the recycled water or through stored rainwater capture on site is subject only to Appendix A of the Guidelines.

(b)

This Article does not apply to:

(1)

Registered local, state, or federal historical sites or other sites exempted by applicable federal or state law.

(2)

Ecological restoration projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system.

(3)

Mined-land reclamation projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system.

(4)

Plant collections, as part of botanical gardens and arboretums open to the public.

(Ord. No. NS-2891, § 2, 2-2-16)

(a)

Prior to installation, a Landscape Documentation Package shall be submitted to the City for review and approval of all landscape projects subject to the provisions of this Article. Any Landscape Documentation Package submitted to the City shall comply with the provisions of the Guidelines.

(b)

The Landscape Documentation Package shall include a certification by a professional appropriately licensed in the State of California stating that the landscape design and water use calculations have been prepared by or under the supervision of the licensed professional and are certified to be in compliance with the provisions of this Article and the Guidelines.

(1)

Landscape and irrigation plans shall be submitted to the City for review and approval with appropriate water use calculations.

(2)

Water use calculations shall be consistent with calculations contained in the Guidelines and shall be provided to the City under procedures determined by the City.

(3)

Verification of compliance of the landscape installation with the approved plans shall be obtained through a Landscape Installation Certification of Completion in conjunction with a Certificate Occupancy, Permit Final or Notice of Completion process, as provided in the Guidelines.

(Ord. No. NS-2891, § 2, 2-2-16)

(a)

For applicable landscape installation or rehabilitation projects subject to section 41-1501(a) of this Code, the Estimated Applied Water Use allowed for the landscaped area shall not exceed the Maximum Applied Water Allowance (MAWA) calculated using an ET adjustment factor of 0.7, except for special landscaped areas where the MAWA is calculated using an ET adjustment factor of 1.0; or the design of the landscaped area shall otherwise be shown to be equivalently water-efficient in a manner acceptable to the City; as provided in the Guidelines.

(b)

Irrigation of all landscaped areas shall be conducted in a manner conforming to the rules and requirements, and shall be subject to penalties and incentives for water conservation and water waste prevention as determined and implemented by the city.

(Ord. No. NS-2891, § 2, 2-2-16)

The following definitions are applicable to this article:

"Aggregate Landscape Areas" pertains to production home neighborhoods, common interest developments, or other situations where multiple parcels are undergoing development as one project, but will eventually be individually owned or maintained.

"City" means the City of Santa Ana, a charter city and municipal corporation, or its authorized designee.

"Ecological restoration project" means a project where the site is intentionally altered to establish a defined, indigenous, historic ecosystem.

"Estimated Applied Water Use" or "EAWU" means the annual total amount of water estimated to keep plants in a healthy state. It is based on the reference evapotranspiration rate, the size of the landscape area, plant water use factors, and the irrigation efficiency within each hydrozone.

"Evapotranspiration adjustment factor" or "ETAF" means a factor of 0.7, that when applied to reference evapotranspiration, adjusts for plant factors and irrigation efficiency, two major influences upon the amount of water that needs to be applied to the landscape. A combined plant mix with a site-wide average of 0.5 is the basis of the plant factor portion of this calculation. For purposes of the ETAF, the average irrigation efficiency is 0.71, therefore, the ET adjustment factor is (0.7)=(0.5/0.71). ETAF for a Special Landscape Area shall not exceed 1.0. ETAF for existing non-rehabilitated landscapes is 0.8.

"Guidelines" refers to the guidelines for Implementation of this Article, as adopted by the City, which describes procedures, calculations, and requirements for landscape projects subject to this Article. The Guidelines are consistent with the regional Orange County Model Ordinance and Guidelines.

"Landscaped area" means all the planting areas, turf areas, and water features in a landscape design plan subject to the Maximum Applied Water Allowance and Estimated Applied Water Use calculations. The landscaped area does not include footprints of buildings or structures, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, decks, patios, gravel or stone walks, other pervious or non-pervious hardscapes, and other non-irrigated areas designated for non-development (e.g., open spaces and existing native vegetation).

"Landscape Documentation Package" means the package of documents that a project applicant is required to submit pursuant to section 2.1 of the Guidelines.

"Landscape Installation Certificate of Completion" means the certificate included as exhibit E of the Guidelines that must be submitted to the City pursuant to section 2.7(C) thereof.

"Landscape project" means total area of landscape in a project, as provided in the definition of "landscaped area," meeting the requirements under Section 41-1501 of this Code.

"Maximum Applied Water Allowance" or "MAWA" means the upper limit of annual applied water for the established landscaped area as specified in section 2.2 of the Guidelines. It is based upon the area's reference evapotranspiration, the ETAF, and the size of the landscaped area. The Estimated Applied Water Use shall not exceed the Maximum Applied Water Allowance.

"Mined-land reclamation projects" means any surface mining operation with a reclamation plan approved in accordance with the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975.

"New construction" means, for the purposes of this Article, a new building with a landscape or other new landscape such as a park, playground, or greenbelt without an associated building.

"Permit" means an authorizing document issued by local agencies for new construction or rehabilitated landscape.

"Rehabilitated landscape" means any re-landscaping project that requires a permit, plan check, or development review and meets the applicability criteria of the Guidelines where the modified landscape area is greater than two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet.

"Synthetic Turf" means an acceptable no mow ground cover made of synthetic, non-living material which meets the criteria standards set forth in the City's Design and Development Standards.

"Turf" means a ground cover surface of mowed grass or synthetic turf which meets or exceeds the standards set forth in the Guidelines. Annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, Perennial ryegrass, Red fescue, and Tall fescue are cool-season grasses. Bermuda grass, Kikuyu grass, Seashore Paspalum, St. Augustine grass, Zoysia grass, Buffalo grass, Mexican Feather grass, Muhly grass, and Sedge grass are warm-season grasses.

"Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance" means Ordinance No. NS-2891, adopted by the City Council on January 19, 2016 (first reading), and codified in the Municipal Code in Chapter 41Sections 1500—1504.

(Ord. No. NS-2891, § 2, 2-2-16)