Santa Barbara County encourages native and low-water-use plants and incentivizes them through rebates, but does not mandate native planting on existing private yards. Through the State Model WELO, qualifying new and rehabilitated landscapes must meet water-budget limits that favor low-water and native species.
Santa Barbara County treats native and drought-tolerant landscaping mainly as encouraged best practice plus a regulatory water budget, not a planting mandate for existing yards. The County's Landscape Programs (Green Gardener Program, the WaterWise Landscape Transformation Rebate, and the WaterWise Garden Contest) promote resource-efficient, low-water gardens and reward replacing thirsty turf with native and climate-appropriate plants. On the regulatory side, the State Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (CCR Title 23, Section 490 et seq.), which the County applies, sets a Maximum Applied Water Allowance based on plant-factor categories — very-low, low, moderate and high water-use — so designs leaning on native and low-water species (plant factor under 0.3) are easiest to bring within budget for qualifying new and rehabilitated landscapes. Separately, the County's oak-protection and habitat-preservation policies prioritize retaining native vegetation in rural and resource-management zones, and methods to comply with WELO expressly include protection and preservation of native species and natural vegetation. So while there is no countywide rule forcing homeowners to plant natives, native and drought-tolerant choices are rewarded and make permit compliance simpler.
There is no penalty for not planting native species. Compliance issues arise only where a qualifying landscape project exceeds its WELO water budget at permit review; such projects can be required to revise plant palettes or irrigation before approval. Removing native protected oaks, however, is separately regulated under the County's Oak Tree Protection ordinance.
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