Hawthorne, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- HMC § 17.89.030(B)
- Landscape size threshold
- Under 2,500 sq ft per lot/parcel
- Qualifying sources
- Stored on-site rainwater, or graywater
- Coverage required
- 100% of estimated total water use
- Compliance path if qualified
- Appendix E, Section B.5 only
- Ordinance basis
- Ord. 2140 § 11 (2017); amended Ord. 2226 § 7 (2021)
Summary
A Hawthorne lot with less than 2,500 square feet of landscape can skip the full water-efficient landscape documentation package if stored rainwater captured on site, or treated or untreated graywater, supplies the entire estimated water use, triggering only the streamlined Appendix E provision under Section 17.89.030(B).
For projects using treated or untreated graywater or rainwater captured on site, any lot or parcel within the project that has less than two thousand five hundred square feet of landscape and meets the lot or parcel's landscape water requirement (estimated total water use) entirely with treated or untreated graywater or through stored rainwater captured on site is subject only to Section B.5 of Appendix E of the Water Efficient Landscape Guidelines.
Full Breakdown
89 or the prescriptive measures in Appendix E of the Water Efficient Landscape Guidelines. 5 of Appendix E, not the rest of the chapter's landscape documentation requirements. 89 itself was adopted by Ordinance 2140, Section 11, in 2017, and amended by Ordinance 2226, Section 7, in 2021, to implement standards at least as effective as the state's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance under Government Code provisions. 060, including project information, total landscape area, and the water budget calculations tied to the maximum applied water allowance.
Violations & Fines
A project that claims the rainwater or graywater exemption without actually meeting its full estimated total water use from stored on-site rainwater or graywater, or that exceeds the 2,500-square-foot landscape threshold, must instead comply with the complete landscape documentation package under Section 17.89.060. Misrepresenting eligibility for the exemption on a landscape plan submitted for plan check can result in the planning department rejecting the application or requiring a corrected documentation package before any permit issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can rainwater harvesting exempt a Hawthorne property from the full landscape water rules?
Does a large Hawthorne landscape qualify for the rainwater harvesting exemption?
What documentation does a Hawthorne rainwater harvesting project still need?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hawthorne
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