Santa Barbara County, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

For new and rehabilitated landscapes, the County's Planning and Development Department applies the State Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO/MWELO), codified at California Code of Regulations Title 23, Section 490 et seq. The County's WELO Supplemental Application states the updated State Model Ordinance became effective January 2, 2025, and "is in effect in Santa Barbara County." After April 2, 2025, it applies to new construction landscapes of 500 square feet or more, and rehabilitated landscapes of 2,500 square feet or more, that need a building, landscape, coastal-development or land-use permit, plan check or design review. Compliance is met either through prescriptive measures (Section 492) or a performance approach using the Maximum Applied Water Allowance and Estimated Total Water Use calculations (Section 493). MWELO caps the Estimated Applied Water through an irrigation efficiency factor and requires weather- or sensor-based controllers. Beyond MWELO, ongoing drought watering restrictions (watering days, hours, no-runoff rules) are imposed by the State Water Resources Control Board during emergencies and by individual purveyors (Montecito, Carpinteria Valley, Goleta, Santa Ynez and others), so specific outdoor-watering schedules depend on your water provider, not a single County ordinance.