Lakewood, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Chapter 6 of Article VIII, the city's Water Conservation in Landscaping ordinance, requires a Landscape Plan and permit for new and rehabilitated landscaping under §§ 8604 and 8605, reviewed by the Director of Community Development. The Landscape Plan Content requirement at § 8608(E) already directs that grading be designed to minimize soil erosion, runoff and water waste, and § 8612, titled Stormwater Management, goes further: it tells applicants to build stormwater best management practices into their landscape and grading design plans to minimize runoff and increase on-site water retention and infiltration, and it names rain gardens and cisterns specifically as encouraged features for capturing rainwater onsite.

None of this is phrased as a mandate. The operative verb throughout is "encouraged," not "required," so a Lakewood property owner cannot be cited for skipping a cistern or rain garden, and the Landscape Plan approval standard in § 8607 does not list rainwater capture among the findings the Director must make before approving a plan. What is mandatory is that applicants follow stormwater regulations promulgated by the city and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, a reference to Lakewood's separate municipal stormwater permit obligations layered on top of this landscaping chapter. In practice, a rain garden or cistern can help satisfy the chapter's Estimated Total Water Use and irrigation-efficiency calculations in the Water Efficient Landscape Worksheet required by § 8608(A), since water captured onsite offsets potable irrigation demand, but the city treats it as a design option rather than a separate permit category.