Menifee, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in Menifee, 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
- Local ordinance
- Ordinance No. 2009-61 (MMC Chapter 15.04)
- State authority
- AB 1881 / DWR Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance
- Plant palette
- Predominantly low-water-use plants required
- Irrigation controllers
- Weather/ET-based automatic controllers required
- Lawn ban areas
- Medians, boulevards, public ROW, parking islands
- Mulch
- 3-inch minimum layer in planting areas
Summary
Menifee enforces its own Landscape Water Use Efficiency Requirements ordinance (Ordinance No. 2009-61, codified at Menifee Municipal Code Chapter 15.04), the city's local implementation of California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance under AB 1881. New and rehabilitated landscapes over the state thresholds must use predominantly low-water plants, weather-based irrigation controllers, and a Landscape Documentation Package approved by the city.
The water-efficient landscape requirements contained in these standards shall apply to properties and projects in accordance with the City of Menifee "Landscape Water Use Efficiency Requirements" Ordinance No. 2009-61 (MMC Chapter 15.04) regarding landscape area thresholds and exemptions. ... The City of Menifee requires water efficient landscape principles to be used in the design and development of landscapes within the city. Those principles directly related to planting include minimal use of lawn areas, adequate soil improvements, use of mulches, and selection of climate appropriate, non-invasive, low water use plants. Landscape planting shall be designed and installed in accordance with the requirements set forth herein. ... 1.4 Lawns shall be limited to highly visible and active use areas only. If lawn areas are provided, then warm-season turf grass, such as hybrid Bermuda, should be specified. 1.5 Lawn shall be prohibited in street median islands, boulevards, public rights-of-way, and parking lot planter islands.
Full Breakdown
Shortly after incorporating in 2008, Menifee adopted Ordinance No. 04. The ordinance implements California Assembly Bill 1881 (2006), which directs the Department of Water Resources' Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO); per DWR, all local agencies must adopt, implement, and enforce the MWELO or a local water efficient landscape ordinance that is at least as effective. 04 before plan approval. Substantive requirements include predominantly low-water-use plants for the majority of planting areas, plants grouped by water need on separate irrigation circuits (hydrozones), weather/ET-based automatic irrigation controllers with rain sensors, head-to-head spray coverage with no overspray onto hardscape, a minimum three-inch mulch layer in planting areas, lawns limited to highly visible active-use areas, and lawn prohibited outright in street medians, boulevards, public rights-of-way, and parking-lot planter islands. Menifee's retail water suppliers (principally Eastern Municipal Water District) may layer drought-stage watering schedules on top of these baseline design standards.
Violations & Fines
Landscape plans that do not comply with MMC Chapter 15.04 are not approved, which blocks the associated building or grading permits and occupancy. Violations of installed-landscape requirements are municipal code violations enforceable by Menifee Code Enforcement through notices of violation and administrative citations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Menifee have its own water-efficient landscape ordinance?
Can I plant a regular lawn in a new Menifee development?
What paperwork does a new landscape project need?
Who sets day-of-week watering schedules in Menifee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Menifee
How Menifee compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·California rules heatmap·Compare Menifee to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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Water Restrictions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle water restrictions.