After three years of a historic drought, Californians are now subject to mandatory water rationing, bans on washing cars, and water “only on request” at restaurants. Interestingly, one of the most contentious of all water conservation matters, allowing a lawn to go brown without fear of fines from cities, homeowner and neighborhood groups, was addressed in two underreported pieces of legislation recently signed into law.
The first, Assembly Bill 1, amended California Government Code section 8627.7 to prohibit cities and counties from imposing a fine under any local maintenance ordinance or other relevant ordinance on homeowners who choose to stop watering their lawns. As revised, Government Code section 8627.7 states:
During a period for which the Governor has issued a proclamation of a state of emergency under this chapter based on drought conditions, a city, county, or city and county shall not impose a fine under any local maintenance ordinance or other relevant ordinance for a failure to water a lawn or for having a brown lawn.
The bill was intended to address, and outlaw, local government regulations, such as those in the City of Glendora which threatened homeowners with fines of up to $500 if they failed to “keep landscaping looking healthy and green.” Section 8627.7 voids and supersedes such regulations.
While Assembly Bill 1 was intended to void government regulations on watering lawns, Assembly Bill 349 was aimed at homeowner’s associations and neighborhood groups which enact landscaping regulations. AB 349 amended California Civil Code section 4735 and expanded existing regulations prohibiting homeowner’s associations from requiring homeowners to maintain high water use landscaping, such as lawns. The amendment now expressly allows a homeowner to replace lawns with drought-resistant plants and, for the first time, even synthetic turf. AB 349 adds the following text (italicized):
Notwithstanding any other law, a provision of the governing documents or architectural or landscaping guidelines or policies shall be void and unenforceable if it does any of the following:
(2) Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low-water using landscapes that require an amount of water that is not more than the amount of water required by low water-using plants.
Both Assembly bills have significant impacts on housing developers. Master planned communities can no longer mandate “green lawns” nor can they prohibit a homeowner from swapping out high water use landscaping with drought tolerant plants or synthetic turf. In addition, fines or assessments against homeowners for failure to employ a “high water” use landscape design, as found in many current master development plans, are no longer enforceable, unless the landscape plan uses recycled water.
As noted above, and of importance to the builder community, and the frequent desire to create a uniform look in a planned community, the laws create an exception for landscaping that is watered using “recycled water.” Thus, if the planned community incorporates recycled water into its master plan, a green lawn, or other high water use landscaping can still be required.
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