Petaluma, CA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

100 explains why Petaluma built this streamlined process: Article VII, Section 46 of the city charter otherwise requires council action by ordinance before the city acquires property interests, but the large number of recycled water service agreements for properties located outside the city boundaries made approving each one by individual ordinance impractical and costly in staff time. Ordinance 2561 NCS, adopted in 2016, responded by letting the council pre-approve standard form agreements and form easements. 200 gives the city council authority to approve those forms for recycled water service by resolution rather than by ordinance, satisfying the charter's Section 46 while avoiding a separate legislative act for every property.

300 then authorizes the city manager, or a designee, to execute the individual recycled water service agreements and accept the associated easements on the city's behalf, so long as the executed document does not differ materially from the council-approved form. The chapter frames this authority around the city's broader recycled water program goals: efficient use of public resources, fiscal efficiency, and flexibility to manage recycled water service to meet user needs and generate program revenue. 17, which treats properties irrigated with recycled water as exempt from the turf and plant-factor standards that apply to potable irrigation.