Milpitas, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Milpitas Municipal Code § VIII-5-3.03-C(3)(c), part of the Soil Preparation, Mulch and Amendments requirements in the Water Efficient Landscapes chapter (Title VIII, Chapter 5), sets a specific compost incorporation rate for landscape installations: a minimum of four cubic yards of compost per 1,000 square feet of permeable area, tilled to a depth of six inches into the soil. The same subsection exempts soils that lab testing already shows to have greater than six percent organic matter in the top six inches from both the compost and tilling requirements.

This sits inside a broader soil-preparation sequence: before any planting, compacted soils must be transformed to a friable condition under § VIII-5-3.03-C(3)(a), and amendments beyond compost must follow the recommendations of a soil analysis report required under § VIII-5-3.03-B, which must be prepared by a laboratory and cover soil texture, infiltration rate, pH, total soluble salts, sodium and percent organic matter. The compost rule applies wherever the chapter itself applies: new construction projects with 500 square feet or more of landscape, rehabilitated landscape projects of 2,500 square feet or more, and, for limited subsections, cemeteries, per § VIII-5-3.01.

A project applicant, or a licensed landscape architect or contractor acting as designee, must document compliance, and the City Engineer or designee reviews the Landscape Documentation Package, including the soil report, before issuing a permit under § VIII-5-3.02.