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CITY OF SAN LEANDRO <br />STAFF REPORT <br />DATE: January ] 9, 2010 <br />APPROVED AND FORWARDED <br />TO CITY COUNCIL <br />TO: Steve L. Hollister, City Manager <br />~~ <br />FROM: Luke Sims, Community Development Director-~ <br />BY: Sally Barron, Senior Planner <br />SUBJECT PROJECT/PROJECT DESCRIPTION: <br />MATTER OF AMENDMENTS TO THE SAN LEANDRO ZONING CODE TO AMEND THE <br />EXISTING LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE (ARTICLE 19 LANDSCAPE REQUIREMENTS) TO <br />REQUIRE ADDITIONAL WATER CONSERVATION STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN NEW <br />AND EXISTING LANDSCAPE INSTALLATIONS. <br />SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION <br />The City of San Leandro is proposing to amend its existing landscape ordinance, embodied in <br />Article 19 of the Zoning Code, to adhere to the new landscape design requirements of the Water <br />Conservation in Landscaping Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill 1881). That law states that local <br />jurisdictions must adopt ordv~ances that are "at least as effective" as the State of California's model <br />Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO) by January 1, 2010. <br />Staff is proposing to revise the existing Article l9 to include the provisions of the State's model <br />ordinance, as well as additional measures that adhere to the Bay Friendly Landscape protocols, as <br />recommended by StopWaste.Org. The water conservation standards will help reduce overall water <br />use on private and public properties in the city. The proposed modified landscape ordinance would <br />apply to all zoning districts in the City, including Planned Development Districts. <br />Planning Co~r~mission and staff recommend that the City Council hold a public hearing and adopt <br />the Negative Declaration/Initial Study and the proposed revisions to Article 19 Landscape <br />Requirements. <br />BACKGROUND <br />In 2006, the stale legislature passed AB 1881, known as the Water Conservation in Landscaping <br />Act, which required the State Department of Water Resources to update the State Model Water <br />Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO) by 2009. The State's model ordinance was issued on <br />October 8, 2009. San Leandro intends to modify its existing ordinance to make it conform to the <br />basic requirements of the model ordinance in January 2010. <br />The City of San Leandro Zoning Code already establishes landscaping requirements for projects <br />that t-igger Site Plan Review in Article 19, and encourages the reduction of water use. Additionally, <br />