BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1164
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Date of Hearing: September 11, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Brian Maienschein, Chair
AB 1164
(Gatto) - As Amended September 4, 2015
SUBJECT: Water conservation: drought tolerant landscaping.
SUMMARY: Prohibits cities and counties from enacting or
enforcing any ordinance or regulation that prohibits the
installation of drought tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass,
or artificial turf on residential property. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Prohibits a city, including a charter city, county, or city
and county, from enacting any ordinance or regulation, or
enforce any existing ordinance or regulation, that prohibits
the installation of drought tolerant landscaping, synthetic
grass, or artificial turf on residential property.
2)Allows a city, including a charter city, county, or city and
county, to impose reasonable restrictions on the type of
drought tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass, or artificial
turf that may be installed on residential property provided
that those restrictions do not do any of the following:
a) Substantially increase the cost of installing drought
tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass, or artificial turf;
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b) Effectively prohibit the installation of drought
tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass or artificial turf;
or,
c) Significantly impede the installation of drought
tolerant landscaping, including, but not limited to, a
requirements that a residential yard must be completely
covered with living plant material.
3)Makes a number of findings and declarations.
4)Contains an urgency clause, and specifies the facts
constituting the necessity are:
In order to address the historic, prolonged, and potentially
devastating drought, it is necessary that residents of this
state be able to replace water inefficient landscaping with
drought tolerant landscaping as quickly as possible.
EXISTING LAW delegates, pursuant to the California Constitution,
the police power to cities and counties to make and enforce
within limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances
and regulations not in conflict with general laws.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, no state costs are anticipated as a result of
provisions that prohibit cities and counties from enacting or
enforcing specified ordinances and regulations prohibiting
synthetic grass.
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COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill prohibits cities and counties from
enacting or enforcing any ordinance or regulation that
prohibits the installation of drought tolerant landscaping,
synthetic grass, or artificial turf on residential property,
and applies to all cities, including charter cities, and all
counties. This bill is sponsored by the author and contains
an urgency clause.
2)Background. Governor Brown issued two proclamations of a
State of Emergency in early 2014 due to severe and ongoing
drought conditions. In light of the impacts of the drought on
water supply, the Governor issued Executive Order B-29-15 on
April 1, 2015, which includes orders to save water, increase
enforcement against water waste, invest in new technologies,
and streamline government response, as specified. Among its
provisions, the Executive Order requires the State Water
Resources Control Board to impose restrictions to achieve a
statewide 25 percent reduction in potable urban water usage
through February 28, 2016, and requires the Department of
Water Resources (DWR) to lead a statewide initiative, in
partnership with local agencies, to replace 50 million square
feet of lawns and ornamental turf with drought tolerant
landscapes. DWR is directed to provide funding to allow for
lawn replacement programs in underserved communities to
complement existing local programs.
In response to the directive in the Executive Order, DWR has
developed the Turf Replacement Initiative, consisting of three
integrated program components:
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a) A Residential Turf Rebate Program, which provides
customer rebates and contractor direct rebates for
residential turf removal and replacement efforts.
b) A Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Turf
Replacement Program targeting turf removal and replacement
on government and commercial sites in underserved
communities of the San Joaquin Valley.
c) A Statewide Campaign to Promote Drought Tolerant
Landscapes, which is a DWR partnership with state,
regional, local, and nonprofit entities to publicize the
rebate initiative and communicate the benefits of
converting lawns to drought tolerant landscapes, including
outreach, community engagement, and technical support.
The 2015 Budget Act includes $25 million in Proposition 1
general obligation bond funds designated for water use
efficiency to fund DWR's Turf Replacement Initiative. This
level of funding is expected to support the conversion of over
10 million square feet of turf. The guidelines for the
Residential Turf Rebate Program specify the state program
rebate amount will be $2 per square foot of turf removed with
a maximum rebate of $2,000 per household. The guidelines
require rebated portions of converted landscapes to only
include low water use, drought tolerant, or California native
plants, and prohibit the use of rebates for live or synthetic
turf on converted landscapes.
Existing law, Article XI, Section 7 of the California
Constitution, vests cities and counties with the police power
to make and enforce within their limits all local, police,
sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict
with general laws. Courts have interpreted the police power
as including the power to regulate the physical of appearance
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of the environment within a community, including ordinances
that enforce aesthetic standards. Some California local
governments have adopted ordinances that ban residents from
using synthetic grass or artificial turf to replace natural
turf lawns.
3)Author's Statement. According to the author, "California is
in the fourth year of an unparalleled drought, the worst in
the State's recorded history. However, despite this dire
situation and the ambitious water use reductions goals facing
cities and water agencies, some Californians seeking to save
water are facing barriers to doing so.
"One of the areas with the highest potential water use savings
is landscape irrigation, which accounts for nearly 43% of
urban water use in California-making it the largest user of
urban water. Reducing this type of use, whether by decreasing
watering of lawns, replacing lawns with drought tolerant
landscapes, or replacing lawns with turf will be necessary to
meet water reduction goals.
"This bill lifts outdated bans on the use of artificial turf
on front lawns and also provides funds to local governments
and water agencies to provide incentives for those who want to
replace their existing lawns with drought-tolerant
landscaping. This bill will give Californians more tools to do
their part to save water during the state's continuing drought
while also facilitating more sustainable long-term outdoor
irrigation practices."
4)Arguments in Support. Supporters argue that the bill is
necessary to lift outdated bans on the installation of
artificial turf statewide, and that outdoor landscaping is one
of the areas with the highest potential for water use savings.
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5)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
6)Urgency Measure. This bill is an urgency measure and requires
a two-thirds vote of each house.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Planning Association, California Chapter
Association of California Water Agencies
Burbank Water and Power
California Association of Realtors
California Landscape Contractors Association
California Municipal Utilities Association
Honorable Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
San Diego County Water Authority
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The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958