Redlands, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Redlands promotes native and low-water landscaping as part of its water-conservation effort. The city directs residents to Calscape for plant selection and recommends drought-tolerant or native plants to create a low-water-use, low-maintenance landscape; native California plants are noted to use roughly 75 percent less irrigation than grass lawns. The city offers a drought-tolerant landscaping rebate for converting grass lawns: eligible projects must use low-water plants (the city's rebate guidance points to a water-saving garden plant list), cover non-planted areas with a water- and air-permeable weed-block material, mulch the base of plants to retain moisture, and convert irrigation to drip or micro-spray. Brown lawns can qualify, but yards that are mostly dirt and weeds do not. While natives are encouraged rather than mandated, Redlands does impose a landscape coverage standard: the city's code (Municipal Code Section 18.168.120) requires that at least 80 percent of the visible front yard area be plant material, with no more than 20 percent hardscape such as rock, decomposed granite, or mulch. Native and drought-tolerant plants, shrubs, trees, and even synthetic turf count toward the 80 percent plant-material requirement, so converting to a native palette is fully compatible with the front-yard rule. This is a city-level standard layered on top of California's MWELO requirements for larger new and rehabilitated landscapes.