Ordinance 2389CITY OF ALAMEDA ORDINANCE NO. 2389
New Series
AMENDING THE ALAMEDA MUNICIPAL CODE BY ADDING
CHAPTER 8 TO TITLE XI THEREOF RELATING TO WATER
CONSERVATION
BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Alameda that:
Section 1. The Alameda Municipal Code is hereby amended by
adding Chapter 8 to Title XI thereof to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8. WATER CONSERVATION.
Article 1.
Article 2.
Guidelines, 11 -811.
Enforcement, 11 -821.
Article 1. Guidelines.
Sec. 11 -811. GUIDELINES ADOPTED. The following
guidelines for water conservation adopted by the East Bay
Municipal Utility District are hereby made part of this
Code.
GENERAL
Landscape design and practices and related
requirements necessary to achieve water conservation
in a development project shall be as follows:
1. All ornamental uses of water in the common areas
of a development project, such as ponds, lakes,
and fountains, shall be supplied, operated, and
maintained with alternative sources of water if
they are available.
2. All new landscaping on parcels of 6,000 square
feet or more in a development project shall be
designed, developed, and maintained in accordance
herewith.
3. Each model home in a development project shall
demonstrate a water conserving landscape as
follows:
o Turf shall be limited to 25% of the planted
area.
o Non -turf areas shall use water conserving
plants.
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o Planting, soils, irrigation, and use of other
materials shall be in accordance herewith.
4. Landscape plans shall be submitted to the City of
Alameda for review as to conformance with these
requirements. The Applicant shall allow a
minimum of 30 days for each review of landscaping
plans and each re-review in the case of
non-conformance with these requirements.
Landscaping shall not be installed until the
Applicant receives the City's written acceptance
of the landscape plans. Maintenance of the
landscaping in accordance with the plan accepted
by the City shall be a condition of continued
water service to the premises.
PLANTING DESIGN
1. Plants shall be selected which are best suited to
the climate of the region and which require
minimal water.
2. Combined turf and decorative uses of water will
be limited to reduce water use and evaporation.
Turf limitations excluded for public parks, golf
courses, cemeteries and school grounds.
3. In addition to water conservation, the landscape
plan will address functional as well as energy
use and environmental conditions specific to each
individual site. By differentiating the site
into watering zones, water can be used where it
is most needed and use can be minimized in areas
where it is little needed.
4. Turfgrass perimeters will be minimized to improve
irrigation efficiency. Long, narrow strips of
turfgrass such as traffic medians and between
curbs and sidewalks will be avoided. For ease of
maintenance and reduction of runoff, groundcovers
other than lawns will be used on slopes exceeding
10%.
SOILS
1. A minimum of 1-2 inches of mulch should be added
to the soil surface to reduce evaporation,
moderate soil temperatures, and discourage weeds.
2. A soils test shall be provided showing soil type,
soil depth and uniformity and pH. Soils vary
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widely in their waterholding capacity from site
to site. Soil type and depth, and the uniformity
of the soil profile will determine how much water
should be applied, and how much runoff is likely
to occur.
3. Grading shall be minimized to avoid soil
disturbance. Topsoil shall be stockpiled for
backfill.
IRRIGATION
1. Conventional sprinklers should not be used where
the perimeter to area ratio (P/A) exceeds .25
(See Exhibit A for examples). Instead, drip,
bubbler or low volume sprays should be used to
minimize runoff.
2. Drip, bubbler irrigation systems or low spray
heads should be used for shrubs, trees and
groundcovers.
3. Separate valves should be installed for turf and
non-turf areas. In many cases, mature plants
require infrequent or no irrigation.
Separation of valves can provide more water to
shallow-rooted plants or to those in shallow
soils which need more frequent watering and less
water to deep-rooted, mature shrubs and trees.
Separate valves will encourage plants to extend
deeper roots and to become less dependent on
frequent watering.
4. Sprinkler heads should have matched precipitation
rates within each control valve circuit.
MISCELLANEOUS
1. Use inert material (or material that does not
chemically break down) as appropriate for
landscaping needs. Inert material or pavement
over a portion of the site with the remainder in
drought tolerant groundcover offers an
alternative to unbroken expanses of turf. Inert
material or paving may be necessary where
continual or heavy traffic occurs. Examples of
inert material are most rock, gravel, bricks,
etc.
2. Use porous paving materials. In order to improve
the percolation of rainwater into the goundwater
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table, porous paving materials are preferred.
Wood decking is a very water conserving landscape
treatment. It shades out weeds, stands up under
traffic, cools the soil beneath, reduces soil
moisture evaporation, and allows infiltration of
rainwater into the soil and into the groundwater
table. Epoxy aggregate paving, keep tile, brick
or concrete laid in sand or fine gravel pavers
open drainage channels, and gravel or bark paving
reduce the need for supplemental irrigation, and
may eliminate the need for costly subsurface
storm drainage systems.
IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
1. Specifications for the irrigation system should
include a watering schedule. To improve
irrigation efficiencies, irrigation schedules
should be set according to the plants' actual
water needs. Turfgrasses should be irrigated a
maximum of once every three days. The following
schedule shows how many inches of water turfgrass
needs monthly, based upon climatic data for area.
Inches/Month Date Inches/Month
Inland Coastal Inland Coastal
Date
January
February
March
April
May
June
0
0
1.5
3
5.5
6.5
0
0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
July
August
September
October
November
December
7 5.0
6.5 4.5
5 4.0
3 1.5
0.5 0
0 0
2. Water should be applied so that it soaks into the
soil slowly.
3. The application rate should neither exceed 0.25"
per cycle nor 0.75" per hour. Avoid runoff by
discontinuing the application of water as soon as
it occurs. Watering in states will allow water
to soak in between applications, thus improving
the efficiency of water use.
4. Electric controllers should be set to water
between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. Nighttime and
early morning irrigation will reduce evaporation
losses.
Article 2. Enforcement.
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Sec. 11-821. Occupancy Permits. No occupancy
permit shall be issued until landscaping for any project
requiring a permit under Title XI complies with Section
11-811.
Section 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect
from and after the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of
its final passage.
\ Attest:
acit Clerk
6
Presiding Officer of the Council
20'
5'
15'
EXHIBIT A....
SAMPLE PERIMETER TO AREA BATTOS
IT p/A .)5 theaB sprinklers are okay.
If P/A greater than -25, then sprinklers not recommeaaed.
20'
10'
20'
10'
10'
20'
10'
20'
100'
20'
80'
P/A =
400'
= 40'
P/A
100'
(sprinklers okay)
.40 (Sprinklers not recomment-ed)
5' P/A = - .50 (SprinklerE not recommen6.-ed)
100'
1 00 '
15' p/A
230'
1,500'
.15 (Stiok aors okay
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance was duly and regularly adopted and passed by
the Council of the City of Alameda in regular meeting
assembled on the 7th. of June, 1988,
by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers Camicia, Haugner, Monsef, Thomas
and President Corica - 5.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: None.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and
affixed the official seal of said City this 8th day of
June, 1988.
WP
City QJLerk of the City of Alameda