Public and Private Policies

Mary Bianchimlbianchi@ucdavis.edu

Loren Okilroki@ucdavis.edu

Your Local Community

Local Regulations or Policies Land Use Food Safety Water Use

Are your edible gardens restricted by Covenants Codes andRestrictions (CCRs)?

1. Yes2. No3. I am not sure

1 2 3

17%

38%

45%

Land Use

Private policies/restrictions

Home Owner Association Restrictive Covenants Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions (CCR)

Fort Bend Texas – “no vegetable gardens shall be permitted except in fully screened areas in the backyard only so as not to be visible from the street or objectionable to an adjacent property”

Maintenance and aesthetics are key! (?)

AB 1061, Lieu 2009 This act provides that the architectural guidelines of a common interest

development shall not prohibit or include conditions that have the effect of prohibiting the use of low water-using plants as a group.

Land Use

Public and private policies may differentiate based on edible versus ornamental landscapes e.g. Sacramento City ordinance required turf or low growing

groundcover in front yards Section 17.68.010 of Title 17 Sacramento City Code (April 3, 2007)

“…the remaining unpaved portion of the setback areas shall be landscaped, irrigated, and maintained.”

“The landscape may include grass, annuals, perennials, ground cover, shrubs, trees… “

Land Use

Public policies or restrictions Focus on community gardens Edible landscape policies might relate to

Setbacks Height of vegetation in front and back yards Maintenance Restrictions on restrictive covenants

May require specific plant materials (trees) for new development

Food Safety Policy

Donating produce (e.g., to food banks) Organization or Institution policy

Check with target organization Clean containers, sound product with minimum 3-day shelf life (typical)

Government policy May be local guidance

Department of Environmental Health Non-food safety policy may apply to preventing spread of pests (e.g., Light

Brown Apple Moth, Asian Citrus Psyllid) Donations may be restricted to county in which product was grown and

may need to be defect free (caterpillar damage)

If I am not sure how a policy applies to edible landscapes or food harvested from these landscapes, I should:

A. Eat the foodB. Don’t eat the foodC. Ask a UC Master

GardenerD. Ask a UC CE AdvisorE. Seek information

from an appropriate agency

A. B. C. D. E.

6%

80%

2%

11%

2%

Water Use Policies related to water use may address:

Budget Allocation and Pricing Water Capture and Conservation Rainwater collection systems Greywater systems

Local jurisdictions must have landscape water conservation ordinance

Must adopt: Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, OR Equally effective ordinance

MWELO

Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO)

Requires a permit for new or rehabilitated landscapes larger than 5,000 sq.ft. for homeowner-installed projects 2,500 sq.ft. for developer-installed projects

Permit requires calculating an estimation of annual landscape water use

“SLA” is short for(Choose BEST Answer)

A. Special Libraries Association

B. Symbionese Liberation Army

C. Science Leadership Academy

D. Special Landscape AreaE. Singapore Land

Authority

A. B. C. D. E.

4% 4%

89%

0%4%

MWELO

The estimated landscape water use must be less than or equal to 0.7 times ETo (reference ET).

Areas of edible plants are classified as “Special Landscape Areas (SLAs)”

SLAs are assigned an ETAF (ET Adjustment Factor) of 1.0

MWELO

Local ordinances may differ considerably from MWELO

MAWA= Maximum Applied Water Allowance (gallons/year)

Water budgets may not exceed MAWA

Budgets calculated using plant water use information in WUCOLS

SLAs allowed 1.0 ETo

MWELO

Budgets calculated using plant water use information in WUCOLS or other accepted reference

Department of Water Resources website http://www.water.ca.gov/ http://www.water.ca.gov/

wateruseefficiency/docs/wucols00.pdf

Local ordinances may vary considerably

MWELO

Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO)

Local Ordinances in place of MWELO

I can find more information about landscape water use policies from:

1. Department of Water Resources

2. My water provider3. County CE office4. California Center for

Urban Horticulture5. All of the above

1 2 3 4 5

5%

84%

0%0%

11%

Thank you!Any Questions?

Mary Bianchimlbianchi@ucdavis.edu

Loren Okilroki@ucdavis.edu