Amended in Senate September 4, 2015

Amended in Senate September 1, 2015

Amended in Senate July 16, 2015

Amended in Senate July 1, 2015

Amended in Senate June 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 21, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1164


Introduced by Assembly Member Gatto

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Gonzalez and McCarty)

February 27, 2015


An act to add Section 53087.7 to the Government Code, relating to water conservation, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1164, as amended, Gatto. Water conservation: drought tolerant landscaping.

Existing law generally authorizes every city and county, including a charter city, in this state to make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations that are not in conflict with general laws.

This bill would prohibit a city, including a charter city, county, and city and county, from enacting or enforcing any ordinance or regulation that prohibits the installation ofbegin insert drought tolerant landscaping,end insert syntheticbegin delete grassend deletebegin insert grass,end insert or artificial turf on residential property, as specified. The bill would additionally state that this is an issue of statewide concern.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 23. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature hereby finds and declares:

2(a) With the lowest snowpack ever recorded, California finds
3itself in 2015 in the fourth year of a historic, prolonged, and
4potentially devastating drought.

5(b) Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued an Executive order
6on April 1, 2015, which, for the first time in California history,
7directs the State Water Resources Control Board to implement
8mandatory water reductions across the state to reduce water usage
9by 25 percent.

10(c) One component of the Governor’s Executive order compels
11the replacement of 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the
12state with drought tolerant landscaping.

13(d) Among a wide variety of drought tolerant landscaping are
14a variety of native plants and landscaping alternatives, including
15the installation of synthetic grass or artificial turf.

16(e) According to the Department of Water Resources, landscape
17irrigation represents 43 percent of urban water use. The installation
18of synthetic grass or artificial turf, in lieu of conventional lawns
19and landscapes, can directly reduce outdoor water use to help meet
20the Governor’s mandated 25-percent statewide water use reduction.

21

SEC. 2.  

Section 53087.7 is added to the Government Code, to
22read:

23

53087.7.  

(a) A city, including a charter city, county, or city
24and county, shall not enact any ordinance or regulation, or enforce
25any existing ordinance or regulation, that prohibits the installation
26ofbegin insert drought tolerant landscaping,end insert syntheticbegin delete grassend deletebegin insert grass,end insert or artificial
27turf on residential property.

28(b) A city, including a charter city, county, or city and county,
29may impose reasonable restrictions on the type ofbegin insert drought tolerant
30landscaping,end insert
syntheticbegin delete grassend deletebegin insert grass,end insert or artificial turf that may be
P3    1installed on residential property provided that those restrictions
2do not dobegin delete eitherend deletebegin insert anyend insert of the following:

3(1) Substantially increase the cost of installingbegin insert drought tolerant
4landscaping,end insert
syntheticbegin delete grassend deletebegin insert grass,end insert or artificial turf.

5(2) Effectively prohibit the installation ofbegin insert drought tolerant
6landscaping,end insert
syntheticbegin delete grassend deletebegin insert grass,end insert or artificial turf.

begin insert

7(3) Significantly impede the installation of drought tolerant
8landscaping, including, but not limited to, a requirement that a
9residential yard must be completely covered with living plant
10material.

end insert
11

SEC. 3.  

The Legislature finds and declares the prolonged
12drought, along with climate change, requires the state to address
13water conservation goals that will have long-term impacts in this
14state. The Legislature further finds and declares that drought
15tolerant landscaping, including the installation of synthetic grass
16or artificial turf, is a viable landscaping alternative that will further
17the goal of addressing long-term water conservation. Therefore,
18allowing property owners in this state to installbegin insert drought tolerant
19landscaping,end insert
syntheticbegin delete grassend deletebegin insert grass,end insert or artificial turf on their
20residential properties is a matter of statewide concern, not a
21municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of
22the California Constitution.

23

SEC. 4.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
24immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
25the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
26immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

27In order to address the historic, prolonged, and potentially
28devastating drought, it is necessary that residents of this state be
29able to replace water inefficient landscaping with drought tolerant
30landscaping as quickly as possible; therefore, it is necessary that
31this act take effect immediately.



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