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Solano County introduces ordinance to adopt state water-efficient landscaping rules
Summary
The board introduced an ordinance to adopt California’s model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO) to comply with Department of Water Resources (DWR) and SB 1383 requirements. Staff outlined triggers, exemptions and a compliance pathway tied to building/plan review.
Solano County staff asked the board Nov. 5 to introduce an ordinance adopting the state's model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO) to meet Department of Water Resources reporting and Senate Bill 1383 requirements. Planning manager Alan Calder and Registered Environmental Health Specialist Liz (Elizabeth) Woodford explained that the county currently is out of compliance and summarized minimum thresholds for review: new landscape projects ≥500 square feet and renovated landscapes ≥2,500 square feet when subject to local agency plan-check or design review.
Woodford said the county must adopt a local ordinance or an equivalent enforcement mechanism to comply with state mandates and described two compliance pathways: full compliance for larger projects and an abbreviated alternative compliance for projects between 500 and 2,500 square feet. She gave examples of exemptions from the model WELO, including registered historic sites and ecological restoration projects without permanent irrigation. Supervisors asked detailed questions about triggers for ministerial permits, agricultural exemptions and enforcement burden; planning staff said the county’s building/plan-check systems will flag applicable projects and that noncompliance would be handled by code enforcement. The board introduced the ordinance and waived further readings by majority vote.
