Lynwood, CA Environmental Rules: Defensible Space (2026)

Section 25-45-11(A)(1)(e) sits inside the Landscape Design Plan requirements of Article 45, Lynwood's Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO). It requires that a landscape design plan for any project located in a fire-prone area address fire safety and prevention, cross-referencing the defensible-space zone mandated by California Public Resources Code section 4291(a) and (b), and directing applicants to avoid fire-prone plant materials and highly flammable mulches. The requirement applies whenever the WELO itself applies under section 25-45-3: public agency and private development projects, and developer-installed single-family or multi-family projects, at 2,500 square feet of new or rehabilitated landscape or more; homeowner-installed residential landscapes at 5,000 square feet or more.

The same design-plan section separately requires mulch stabilizing products on slopes and a minimum two-inch mulch layer on exposed soil under subsection (A)(3), measures that work with the fire-safety language to limit flammable ground cover near structures. Development Services administers compliance: under section 25-45-6, the department must review the landscape documentation package containing the design plan, approve or deny it, and issue the building or landscape permit, plan check, or design review before construction proceeds. The plan itself must bear the signature of a licensed landscape architect, landscape contractor, or another person authorized under the Business and Professions Code sections listed in section 25-45-11(B)(13), along with an affidavit that the applicant complied with the ordinance's criteria.