BILL NUMBER: AB 349 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 266
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 24, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 17, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 22, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gonzalez
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Dodd and Lackey)
(Coauthor: Senator Galgiani)
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
An act to amend Section 4735 of the Civil Code, relating to common
interest developments, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 349, Gonzalez. Common interest developments: property use and
maintenance.
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act governs the
management and operation of common interest developments. Existing
law provides that, unless otherwise provided in the common interest
development declaration, the association is responsible for
repairing, replacing, or maintaining the common area, other than
exclusive use common area, and the owner of each separate interest is
responsible for maintaining that separate interest and any exclusive
use common area appurtenant to that interest. Existing law makes
void and unenforceable any provision of the governing documents or
architectural or landscaping guidelines or policies that prohibits
use of low water-using plants, or prohibits or restricts compliance
with water-efficient landscape ordinances or regulations on the use
of water, as specified.
Existing law also prohibits an association, except an association
that uses recycled water for landscape irrigation, from imposing a
fine or assessment on separate interest owners for reducing or
eliminating watering of vegetation or lawns during any period for
which the Governor has declared a state of emergency or the local
government has declared a local emergency due to drought.
This bill would make void and unenforceable any provision of the
governing documents or architectural or landscaping guidelines or
policies that prohibits use of artificial turf or any other synthetic
surface that resembles grass.
This bill would also prohibit a requirement that an owner of a
separate interest remove or reverse water-efficient landscaping
measures, installed in response to a declaration of a state of
emergency, upon the conclusion of the state of emergency.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares:
(a) With the lowest snowpack ever recorded, California finds
itself in 2015 in the fourth year of a historic, prolonged, and
potentially devastating drought.
(b) Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued an Executive Order on
April 1, 2015, which, for the first time in California history,
directs the State Water Resources Control Board to implement
mandatory water reductions across the state to reduce water usage by
25 percent.
(c) One component of the Governor's Executive Order compels the
replacement of 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the state
with drought tolerant landscaping.
(d) Among a wide variety of drought tolerant landscaping are a
variety of native plants and landscaping alternatives, including the
installation of synthetic grass or artificial turf.
(e) According to the Department of Water Resources, landscape
irrigation represents 43 percent of urban water use. The installation
of artificial turf or synthetic grass, in lieu of conventional lawns
and landscapes, can directly reduce outdoor water use to help meet
the Governor's mandated 25-percent statewide water use reduction.
(f) The vast majority of Californians may today elect to install
artificial turf or synthetic grass in their single-family residential
landscapes. Homeowners within common interest developments should
also be afforded a similar opportunity within appropriate design,
aesthetic, and drainage standards defined by their homeowners'
association.
SEC. 2. Section 4735 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
4735. (a) 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:
(1) Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of
prohibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group or as a
replacement of existing turf.
(2) Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of
prohibiting, the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic
surface that resembles grass.
(3) Has the effect of prohibiting or restricting compliance with
either of the following:
(A) A water-efficient landscape ordinance adopted or in effect
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65595 of the Government Code.
(B) Any regulation or restriction on the use of water adopted
pursuant to Section 353 or 375 of the Water Code.
(b) This section shall not prohibit an association from applying
landscaping rules established in the governing documents, to the
extent the rules fully conform with subdivision (a).
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, an
association, except an association that uses recycled water, as
defined in Section 13050 of the Water Code, for landscaping
irrigation, shall not impose a fine or assessment against an owner of
a separate interest for reducing or eliminating the watering of
vegetation or lawns during any period for which either of the
following have occurred:
(1) The Governor has declared a state of emergency due to drought
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8558 of the Government Code.
(2) A local government has declared a local emergency due to
drought pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8558 of the Government
Code.
(d) An owner of a separate interest upon which water-efficient
landscaping measures have been installed in response to a declaration
of a state of emergency described in subdivision (c) shall not be
required to reverse or remove the water-efficient landscaping
measures upon the conclusion of the state of emergency.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
There have been numerous stories across the state regarding
discrimination against homeowners by a homeowner's association when
the homeowners attempt to replace their water-intensive lawns with
artificial grass. California is in the fourth year of a drought with
no end in sight. Governor Brown has ordered a 25 percent statewide
reduction in urban water consumption and ordered that Californians
take out 50 million square feet of lawns to conserve water. Because
residential landscaping accounts for 35 percent of urban water usage
statewide, allowing homeowners the freedom to use
conservation-friendly landscaping will be one important ingredient in
reaching our mandatory water reduction goals as soon as possible.
Throughout California, homeowners are subject to stricter water
conservation regulations. While in the middle of a water shortage
crisis, homeowner associations are not allowing homeowners to make
voluntary sacrifices by installing artificial grass, and are fining
them if they are out of compliance. This act ensures that all
homeowners have the right to better conserve water by voluntarily
replacing grass with artificial grass. Property owners who pursue
water conservation by installing artificial grass should be
encouraged, not sued or fined. Thus, this act is necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.