CALABASAS : Council to Consider Landscape Measure
The Calabasas City Council next week will consider a measure that would require new landscaping to include water-saving sprinklers. But an unusual proposal to mandate drought-resistant plants has been dropped.
The ordinance would bring the city in line with water-saving guidelines set last year by the state Legislature, including recommendations for irrigation systems, said Calabasas Associate Planner Anna-Lisa Hernandez.
But Calabasas officials dropped from the measure proposed restrictions on the amount of turf and “thirsty” plants that would be allowed in any yard, which would have made the measure one of the region’s most aggressive, Hernandez said.
Instead, the ordinance will require that landscaping plans for all new commercial developments and residences be approved by the Planning Commission. The council is scheduled to consider the measure after a public hearing Wednesday.
“We feel we can achieve the goals without telling people what to plant in their yards,” Hernandez said. “If a guy wants to have a lawn for his son to play ball on, we’re not going to tell him he can’t.”
The original proposal, which was approved by the Calabasas Planning Commission in June, would have limited the amount of lawn to 45% of any new yard.
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