Landscaping Rules in Santa Clarita, CA (2026)
6 verified landscaping rules for Santa Clarita, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
Santa Clarita requires property owners to maintain trees that overhang public sidewalks and streets. Minimum clearance is typically 8 feet over sidewalks and 14 feet over streets. The city manages trees in the public right-of-way.
Santa Clarita Oak Tree Preservation Ordinance
Light RestrictionsCalifornia Public Resources Code § 4291(a)(2)-(4) (Tree Maintenance in State Responsibility Areas)
4291. (a) A person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in the state responsibility area shall at all times do all of the following: ... (2) Remove that portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of the outlet of a chimney or stovepipe. (3) Maintain a tree, shrub, or other plant adjacent to or overhanging a building free of dead or dying wood. (4) Mainta...
Weed Ordinances
Weeds and overgrown vegetation must be controlled to prevent fire hazards and maintain property standards, particularly important given wildfire risk in SCV.
Santa Clarita Weed and Vegetation Abatement
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Food and Agricultural Code § 5004 (Definition of Noxious Weed)
5004. "Noxious weed" means any species of plant that is, or is liable to be, troublesome, aggressive, intrusive, detrimental, or destructive to agriculture, silviculture, or important native species, and difficult to control or eradicate, which the director, by regulation, designates to be a noxious weed. In determining whether or not a species shall be designated a noxious weed for the purpose...
Water Restrictions
Santa Clarita follows California's statewide water conservation mandates and local water agency restrictions. Outdoor watering is subject to day-of-week and time-of-day limits. The city has adopted California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO).
Santa Clarita Water Conservation and Landscape Regulations
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Department of Water Resources - Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), effective January 2, 2025
About 40% of the water Californians use at home is used outdoors. ... New development and retrofitted landscape water efficiency standards are governed by the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO). The MWELO is also referenced by Title 24, Part 11, Chapters 4 and 5 CalGreen Building Code. All local agencies must adopt, implement, and enforce the MWELO or a local Water Efficient Land...
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is legal in California and encouraged. No permit required for rain barrels. SCV Water Agency may offer incentive programs.
Santa Clarita Rainwater Harvesting Rules
Few RestrictionsCalifornia AB-1750 (2012) Rainwater Capture Act - Water Code § 10570 et seq.
10570. This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the Rainwater Capture Act of 2012. ... This bill would enact the Rainwater Capture Act of 2012, which would provide that use of rainwater collected from rooftops does not require a water right permit from the state board. ... (b)(4) A rainwater capture system, as defined in Section 10573 of the Water Code, used exclusively for landscape irri...
Native Plants
Santa Clarita adopts the state's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance for every project that files a landscape plan with an administrative or discretionary permit. Projects between 500 and 2,500 square feet that choose the prescriptive compliance path must plant climate-adapted species needing little or no summer water across most of the yard, cap turfgrass, and mulch every bed before the City signs off.
Santa Clarita Climate-Adapted Plant Rule
Some RestrictionsCal. Code Regs. tit. 23, Div. 2, Ch. 2.7, Appendix D (Prescriptive Compliance Option), subd. (c)(3); Santa Clarita UDC § 17.51.030(A)(10), (B)(2)
Prescriptive Compliance Option. (a) This section contains prescriptive requirements, which may be used as a compliance option for new construction projects with a landscape area between 500 and 2,500 square feet... (c) Landscape project requirements... (3) Plant material shall comply with all of the following: (A) For residential landscapes, install climate adapted plants that require occasiona...
Artificial Turf
State law voids any Santa Clarita homeowners association rule that bans or effectively blocks low water-using plants, turf replacement, or artificial turf, and bars an association from fining an owner for cutting back lawn watering during a state or locally declared drought emergency, under Civil Code § 4735.
Santa Clarita HOA Artificial Turf Rights
Few RestrictionsCalifornia Civil Code § 4735
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a provision of the governing documents or architectural or landscaping guidelines or policies shall be void and unenforceable if it does any of the following: (1) Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group or as a replacement of existing turf. (2) Prohibits, or includes conditions that ha...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Santa Clarita city rules.
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