Fresno County, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in Fresno County, CA, also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance, set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Key Facts
- Threshold
- Landscaped area of 2,500 sq ft or more
- MAWA formula
- (ETO)(0.8)(LA)(0.62) gallons per year
- Irrigation window
- 1am-10am recommended, not mandatory
- Exempt
- Owner-installed single-family landscaping
- Adopted
- Ordinance 92-030
Summary
Fresno County Code Section 13.12.060 requires water-efficient landscaping design for any new development project that needs a permit and installs twenty-five hundred square feet or more of landscaped area, including developer-built yards in single-family and multifamily projects. Owner-installed landscaping at existing single-family homes is exempt.
A.Applicability.1.This section shall apply to:a.Installation of new landscaping in conjunction with development projects that require a permit, including developer-installed landscaping in single-family and multifamily projects, whether installed prior to or after occupancy...3.This section shall not apply to:a.Owner-provided landscaping at single-family projects;b.Cemeteries;c.Registered historical sites;d.Ecological restoration projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system;e.Mined-land reclamation projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system;f.Any project with a landscaped area less than two thousand five hundred square feet. ... f.Whenever possible, landscape irrigation shall be scheduled between one a.m. and ten a.m. to avoid irrigating during times of high wind or high temperature.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 51).
Full Breakdown
060 conditions issuance of a development permit on submitting a "landscape documentation package" to the county before any qualifying landscaping goes in the ground. 62), where ETO is the local reference evapotranspiration rate and LA is the landscaped area in square feet, and it must prove the estimated applied water use won't exceed that allowance. Required attachments include a landscape design plan grouping plants by water need into distinct hydrozones, an irrigation design plan built around automatic controllers and anti-drain valves, monthly irrigation schedules for the plant establishment period, and a maintenance schedule for keeping the system efficient.
The rule exempts owner-installed landscaping at single-family homes, cemeteries, registered historical sites, ecological restoration and mined-land reclamation projects that don't need permanent irrigation, and any project with less than twenty-five hundred square feet of landscaped area. whenever possible, to cut water lost to wind and daytime heat. A licensed landscape architect, contractor, or certified irrigation designer must certify substantial completion to the county, the retail water supplier, and the property owner before the project is considered finished.
Violations & Fines
Section 13.12.060 doesn't set its own fine schedule. Its enforcement runs through the permit process: subsection B.1 blocks the county from issuing the permit until it approves the landscape documentation package, and a licensed professional must certify substantial completion under subsection C.10 before the project can be signed off. Building without an approved package, or skipping the final certification, can hold up final inspection and occupancy approval for the project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to landscape my Fresno County home?
What is a maximum applied water allowance in Fresno County's landscaping code?
Does Fresno County require watering only at certain hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fresno County
How Fresno County compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·California rules heatmap·Compare Fresno County to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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