Milpitas, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Milpitas regulates plant selection on larger landscape projects through its Water Efficient Landscapes ordinance, codified at Milpitas Municipal Code Title VIII, Chapter 5 (Ordinance 238, later amended by Ordinance 238.4). This local ordinance implements California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), adopted by the Department of Water Resources under California Code of Regulations, Title 23. MWELO generally applies to new landscapes of 500 square feet or more that require a permit, and to large rehabilitated landscapes, requiring water-efficient plant palettes, hydrozoning, efficient irrigation, mulch, and a Maximum Applied Water Allowance based on local evapotranspiration. The 2025 MWELO update moved the prescriptive compliance path for small landscapes (roughly 500 to 2,500 square feet) into the main ordinance. For existing single-family homeowners doing voluntary, non-permitted plantings, the documentation requirements generally do not apply, but California natives such as ceanothus, manzanita, toyon, coffeeberry, California fuchsia, and western redbud are well suited to Milpitas's climate and the City's conservation goals. California Civil Code Section 4735 protects homeowners statewide: an HOA may not prohibit, or impose conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, low-water-using plants as a replacement for turf, and may not fine owners for letting lawns go brown during a declared drought emergency.