The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The waters of the state are of limited supply and are subject to ever increasing demands.
(b) The continuation of California’s economic prosperity is dependent on adequate supplies of water being available for future uses.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) Landscape design, installation, maintenance, and management can and should be water efficient.
(f) Section 2 of Article X 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 use or unreasonable method of use.
(g) (1) The Legislature, pursuant to Chapter 682 of the Statutes of 2004, requested the California Urban Water Conservation Council to convene a stakeholders work group to develop recommendations for improving the efficiency of water use in urban irrigated landscapes.
(2) The work group report includes a recommendation to update the model water efficient landscape ordinance adopted by the department pursuant to Chapter 1145 of the Statutes of 1990.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department promote the use of this updated model ordinance.
(h) Notwithstanding Article 13 (commencing with Section 65700), this article addresses a matter that is of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature that this article, except as provided in Section 65594, apply to all cities and counties, including charter cities and charter counties.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 559, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2007.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018