17-Sec. 66 286. Water conserving landscape design..pdf

Created: 2026-03-06 12:39:21 [EST] (Supp. No. 29)

Sec. 66-286. Water conserving landscape design.

The following section shall be applicable to all new construction and substantial improvements.

(1) Required. Landscapes shall be designed in accordance with water conserving landscape design elements set forth in subsections (2)—(5).

(2) Minimum landscaped open space. Minimum landscaped open space shall be required as stipulated by the lot, yard and bulk regulations in the zoning code, chapter 134.

(3) Required vegetation. The following vegetation is required. The nine principles of Florida friendly landscaping shall be utilized.

a. Lawns.

1. If very drought tolerant grass is used, not more than 70 percent of the required landscaped open space shall be planted in lawn grass.

2. If moderate drought tolerant grass is used, not more than 60 percent of the required landscaped open space shall be planted in lawn grass.

(Information on Florida friendly drought tolerant grass can be found at:

http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/ifaspubs.htm.)

b. Nonturfed areas.

1. Nonturf areas shall be planted in mixes of trees, shrubs and ground covers.

2. Plants shall be grouped according to their water needs, and irrigated accordingly. At least 33 percent of the groupings shall be characterized by highly or moderately drought tolerant vegetation.

(Information for Florida friendly landscaping drought tolerant plants can be found at:

http://www.floridayards.org/index.php)

(4) Irrigation standards.

a. Irrigation systems, either manual or automatic, may be used for the cultivated landscape areas.

b. Irrigation shall be designed in zones that reflect necessary water regimes for specific groupings of vegetation.

c. Sprinkler heads irrigating lawns or other high water requirement landscape areas shall be circuited so that they are on a separate zone from those irrigating trees, shrubbery or other reduced water requirement areas.

d. Zones containing existing native plant communities and ecosystems maintained in a natural state do not require, and shall not have any additional irrigation water added in any form.

e. In order to prevent overthrow, low trajectory heads or low volume water distributing devices shall be used when irrigating confined areas.

f. No more than ten percent of spray radius shall be allowed onto impervious areas.

g. Newly installed native plant areas may require irrigation during the establishment period. Water during this period shall be applied from a temporary irrigation system, a water truck, or by hand watering from a standard bib source.

h. A temporary irrigation system shall be removed no later than 60 days after completion of the planting.

(5) Use of organic mulches. When appropriate, a minimum of two inches of arsenic-free organic mulch shall be installed around each tree planting for a minimum of 18 inches beyond its trunk in all directions, including palms, and throughout all hedge, shrub, and groundcover plantings. Mulch shall be pulled a minimum of two inches away from trees and palms. Appropriate mulching material consists of by-product or alternative mulches such as eucalyptus, pine needles, pine finds, oak leaf, Atlas grow soil, utility or other mulch as recommended by Florida Friendly Landscaping principles. The use of Cypress mulch, pine mulch, and dyed mulches is prohibited.

(6) Antitranspirants. In order to reduce water loss through leaves during installation, antitranspirants shall be used and applied on all permitted landscape installation projects for a minimum period of 90-days from the date of installation.

(7) Irrigation plans. Detailed irrigation plans shall be submitted as part of a building permit, and shall include:

a. Layout of irrigation system and identification of components.

b. Explanation of relationship between plant groupings and type of irrigation used.

c. Irrigation plans must provide 100 percent coverage of landscape areas.

(8) Control systems.

a. The irrigation system shall be equipped with rainfall or moisture sensing devices to avoid operation during periods of sufficient moisture.

b. Automatically controlled irrigation systems shall be operated by an irrigation controller that is capable of watering high water requirement areas on a different schedule from low water requirement areas.

(9) Advanced irrigation systems. This section shall be applicable to all new construction, substantial improvement and existing properties applying for a variance from the day-of-week watering restrictions imposed by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the City of West Palm Beach (WPB) or the Town of Palm Beach (town). Variances from the day-of-week watering restrictions does not relieve a property owner from complying with irrigation restrictions contained in a water shortage order or water emergency declaration issued by the SFWMD, WPB or the town.

a. Any person who purchases or installs an automatic landscape irrigation system on their property must properly install, maintain, and operate the system in accordance with manufacturer specifications, technology that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture, and otherwise comply with the provisions of this section.

b. Evapotranspiration-based (ET) or moisture sensing-based controllers are required on any new automatic landscape irrigation system or controller installed subsequent to the date of adoption of this ordinance. In addition said systems are required on automatic irrigation systems when any principal structure on a property in the town is substantially altered.

c. Owners who have a properly operating evapotranspiration-based (ET) or moisture sensing controlled irrigation system shall be eligible for a variance from the day-of-the-week landscape irrigation restrictions set forth in section 122-78(b)(3) and (4) if the following requirements are met:

1. The ET controller is approved by the Town of Palm Beach building official as meeting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense® specification for weather-based controllers, the requirements of the Irrigation Association (IA) for climate-based controllers or moisture sensor-based controllers, or some comparable and applicable standard.

2. The owner submits an application for variance to the Town of Palm Beach building official or his/her designee in accordance with section 122-81 along with an application fee in an amount adopted by the town council by resolution.

3. The owner posts a sign in a conspicuous location on the property to inform the public of the approved variance. The sign shall be provided by the town, the cost of which shall be payable to the town in an amount to be determined by the town council by resolution, upon approval of the variance.

4. No irrigation occurs between the daily restricted hours as may be set forth by the South Florida Water Management District and/or the City of West Palm Beach, which is subject to change at any time.

d. The town shall maintain a database of all properties which have installed and maintained advanced irrigation systems in accordance with the requirements of this subsection, and which are exempt from the day-of-the-week irrigation restrictions set forth in section 122-78(b)(3) or (4).

e. A variance granted from section 122-78(b)(3) or (4) based on the installation and operation of an advanced irrigation system does not relieve a property owner from complying with irrigation restrictions contained in a water shortage order or water emergency declaration issued by the South Florida water Management District, the City of West Palm Beach or the Town of Palm Beach.

f. Applicability. This section shall apply to all licensed contractors within the jurisdiction of the town who install or perform work on automatic irrigation systems and to any person or entity which purchases or installs an automatic landscape irrigation system on their property.

1. A licensed contractor or owner who installs or performs work on an automatic landscape irrigation system must test for the correct operation of each inhibiting or interrupting device or switch on the system. If such devices are not installed, or are not functioning properly, the contractor must install new devices or repair the existing ones and insure that each is operating properly before completing other work on the system.

2. A licensed contractor or owner performing work on an automatic landscape irrigation system shall report systems that are not in compliance with this section, to code enforcement personnel in the police department. Failure of a contractor or owner to report non-compliant systems within five business days is punishable by fines as specified in the violations and penalties section of this section. A system that is repaired by the contractor and brought into compliance need not be reported.

3. Regular maintenance and replacement of worn or broken moisture sensing equipment, such as soil moisture or rain sensors, is not a violation of this section, if such repairs are made within 30 days from the time non-compliance is noted.

4. All contractors performing work on irrigation systems within the town shall be licensed or registered under F.S. ch. 489, or the Construction Industry Licensing Board of Palm Beach County and shall hold a municipally-issued license or business tax certificate that permits work on irrigation systems.

5. A licensed contractor shall perform annually a maintenance review of the ET-controlled system and certify to the town on an annual basis that the ET-controlled system is properly operating and in compliance with this section. Owners failing to provide such annual recertification that the system is properly operating shall result in revocation of the variance from section 122-78(b)(3) or (4).

g. Violations and penalties.

1. Failure of any person who purchases or installs an automatic landscape irrigation system on their property, or property managed by them, to properly install, maintain, and operate technology that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture is a violation of this section, and such person shall be subject to a fine in accordance with section 2-439 of this Code. A person in violation of this section may be cited for each day the system fails to be in compliance with this section.

2. Failure of an owner to report to town code enforcement officials automatic landscape irrigation systems that are not in compliance with this section, which require properly operating devices to inhibit or interrupt the operation of the irrigation system during periods of sufficient moisture, shall be a violation of this section, and such owner shall be subject to a fine in accordance with section 2-439 of this Code.

(Code 1982, § 11.5-10; Ord. No. 25-02, § 1, 11-12-02; Ord. No. 22-10, § 1, 7-13-10; Ord. No. 13-2013, § 2, 8-13-13;

Ord. No. 21-2018, § 5, 4-9-19)

Cross reference(s)—Water generally, § 122-31 et seq.

Sec. 66-286. Water conserving landscape design.