Chino Hills, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)
Key Facts
- Mandatory element
- Friable soil in all planted areas (§16.07.090(C))
- Encouraged, not required
- On-site rainwater capture and infiltration design
- Recommended design target
- 1-inch or 85th-percentile 24-hour storm capacity
- Governing section
- CHMC § 16.07.090, Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance
- Review authority
- Community Development Director or designee
Summary
Chino Hills encourages, but does not mandate, on-site rainwater capture and infiltration in new landscape designs, while requiring friable soil in all planted areas to maximize retention. The rules sit in § 16.07.090 of the Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, applicable to qualifying new-construction and rehabilitated landscape projects.
A.Stormwater management practices minimize runoff and increase infiltration, which recharges groundwater and improves water quality. Implementing stormwater best management practices into the landscape and grading design plans to minimize runoff and to increase on-site rainwater retention and infiltration are encouraged...C.All planted landscape areas are required to have friable soil to maximize water retention and infiltration.D.It is strongly recommended that landscape areas be designed for capture and infiltration capacity that is sufficient to prevent runoff from impervious surfaces (i.e. roof and paved areas) from either: (1) the one-inch, 24-hour rain event or (2) the 85th percentile, 24-hour rain event, and/or additional capacity as required by any applicable local, regional, state or federal regulation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
07). Subsection C is the one mandatory element: all planted landscape areas are required to have friable soil to maximize water retention and infiltration. The rest of the section is aspirational rather than binding: subsection D 'strongly recommends' that landscape areas be designed with capture and infiltration capacity sufficient to prevent runoff from impervious surfaces such as roofs and paved areas, sized to either the one-inch, 24-hour rain event or the 85th-percentile, 24-hour rain event, plus any additional capacity required by other local, regional, state or federal regulation.
Subsection E lists specific rainwater-harvesting techniques the city encourages project applicants to incorporate, including grading impervious surfaces to drain to vegetated areas, minimizing paved surface area, using pervious or porous materials such as gravel or permeable pavers, directing roof and paved-surface runoff into planting beds, and installing rain gardens, cisterns, infiltration beds, swales, basins or drywells. 060(B)(11)).
Violations & Fines
The friable-soil requirement in § 16.07.090(C) is enforced the same way as the rest of Chapter 16.07: the Community Development Director reviews it as part of the landscape design plan before approving a Landscape Documentation Package under § 16.07.040, and a project built without that approval is a code violation. Under § 1.36.010 and § 1.36.020, a Chapter 16.07 violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, or the city may pursue an administrative citation under Chapter 1.18 instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Chino Hills require rainwater harvesting systems?
What storm size should a rainwater retention design target?
Where do rainwater-harvesting features have to be documented?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chino Hills
California rules heatmap·Compare Chino Hills to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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Rainwater Harvesting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle rainwater harvesting.