The enactment of Assembly Bill 1881 in January, aimed primarily at new construction and commercial landscapers, gives specific guidelines for residents who want to create a more sustainable habitat in their homes using a variety of features.
The new law, a model ordinance for landscape water conservation, applies only to single-family residences built by developers with gardens larger than 2,500 square feet, or to existing single-family homes where the landscaped area is more than 5,000 square feet and undergoing a renovation.
In addition, it contains instructions for professionals who work on lawns and gardens.
In a recent trend that encourages sustainable living advocates, homeowners are beginning to introduce “green” concepts on their own, and a parade of experts from landscape architects to designers are helping commercial and residential clients move toward a more sustainable lifestyle. Events like last month’s Green Garden Showcase in Mar Vista, where 80 environmentally friendly residences were on display, is evidence that sustainable living is slowly becoming interwoven in the fabric of some Westside communities.
There are plans underway to have a similar event in Culver City next month, says Meghan Sahli-Wells, who has been active in sustainability and water conservation efforts in Culver City over the last two years.
“It would be wonderful if we could take part in something like that, which could educate our residents on water conservation and sustainability,” she said.
The idea for a similar garden showcase came from Mayita Dinos, a Culver City-based garden designer, said Sahli-Wells, who has attended the Mar Vista garden tour.
“It was really amazing to see all of the sustainable gardens and lawns there,” she said.
James Lamm, director of the Ballona Creek Renaissance, a Culver City non-profit that works on water quality and conservation of the Ballona Creek, also thinks a garden tour would be helpful for Culver City residents who want to live in a more eco-friendly way.
“Redoing one’s yard or lawn can really help cut back on stormwater runoff, along with choosing wisely native plants for the home,” Lamm, who has also attended the Mar Vista tour this year, told the News.
“A garden showcase is about education, inspiration and giving people the tools that they need to have in order to live in a sustainable way,” added Sahli-Wells, who as a candidate for the Culver City City Council this year was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters.
The G3 Green Gardens Group hosts certification classes for homeowners and landscape professionals that teach them what they need to know when beginning a project, which could mean installing native plants instead of grass or converting the front lawn into a green garden paradise, complete with stormwater runoff systems, upscale grading and hardscape.
The organization, according to its Web site, is “devoted to educating homeowners, design professionals, and the local community in the latest eco-restorative landscape techniques and promoting the principles of low-impact development.”
“Most people don’t know how to (create) a sustainable garden,” said Marilee Kuhlmann, a Mar Vista resident who owns Comfort Zones Garden Design and runs the certification classes. “They know certain aspects, but in order to create a garden that has the kind of water conservation and retention features that make it sustainable, most people need guidance.”
Some of the guidelines under the state landscape and water conservation law for homeowners and professionals include design to minimize irrigation over spray and runoff, the inclusion of landscape water budgets, design with the appropriate use and groupings of plants, provide soil assessment, soil management plans and landscape maintenance plans, and encourage the capture and retention of storm water onsite.
“(AB 1881) really is about water conservation,” said John Tikotsky of Tikotsky & Associates, a landscape architect who owns a West Los Angeles design firm that emphasizes sustainable lawns and gardens. “And that’s important to note because most lawns tend to be overwatered, which can create problems for laws and plants.
“So (landscape professionals) definitely need to become familiar with AB 1881.”
Sometimes, tragedy is the impetus for a new focus on an ongoing challenge. In the wake of the April 20 explosion of an offshore drilling rig operated by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico, states along the East and West coasts have expressed greater apprehension regarding offshore drilling.
While Westside cities are not forced to contend with the prospect of oil contamination from a tanker spill or an underwater pipe bursting, the threat of stormwater pollution and other debris remains an ongoing concern.
Lamm recalled two instances in recent years where contaminants entered the watershed and Ballona Creek. He believes the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico near the Louisiana coast has given the public renewed interest in environmental protection.
“It was far less dramatic than the Gulf of Mexico spill, but contaminants did reach the creek, and in one instance left an oily patch in the water,” Lamm, a former Culver City planning commissioner and a traditional architect, said.
Because oil and gas company Plains Exploration and Production operates in nearby Baldwin Hills, residents there are reminded of the possible consequences of an accident related to oil drilling.
“The Inglewood Oilfield is not that far away from Ballona Creek,” Lamm noted.
Protecting the oceans and beaches has long been a -priority for a number of environmentally active non-profit groups in California. The deaths of sea lions and other sea mammals in recent years, along with increased cases of respiratory ailments in surfers, illustrate the deleterious affects of pollutants, refuse and stormwater runoff.
“I’m not sure that people understand the importance of stormwater runoff and how it can affect our oceans,” Sahli-Wells said. “As we see the acidification of our oceans, people begin to understand how important this concept is.”
The Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization created to protect California’s beaches and oceans, understands its importance. The organization sponsors Ocean Friendly Gardens, workshops that teach the public how to improve water quality and have a healthier lawn or garden through conservation, retention and permeability.
Their Web site, www.surfrider.org, has additional details.
On Wednesday, May 27, Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay announced overall beach water quality in 2009-10 in Los Angeles County showed significant improvement, according to the environmental group’s 20th annual Beach Report Card.
“After all these years of poor water quality in the summer, it is great to see that state and local funding for clean beach projects is resulting in better protection of public health,” said Heal the Bay President Mark Gold.
Although the county’s water quality remains the worst in the state, storm-drain enhancements that treated or diverted polluted urban runoff during prime beachgoing season played a major role in the rising grades, according to Heal the Bay.
Tikotsky, who has worked with clients in Santa Monica and with that coastal community’s government, says managing water runoff is essential in order to keep the ocean free of pollution.
“Santa Monica has really taken the initiative to reduce the millions of gallons of water that go into stormdrains and ultimately the ocean,” he said. “Anything that we can do to retain as much water as we can on our properties will make a huge difference.”
Culver City updated its water ordinance last December, which includes measures such as limited times for watering and a prohibition on water runoff for residential users and the use of water-saving nozzles by restaurants.
While the prior ordinance was well constructed, says Catherine Vargas, the city’s environmental coordinator, the new set of regulations were written with the current water shortage in mind.
“It was a great ordinance at the time, but we’re in a different drought now,” Vargas noted in an interview last year.
Lamm said the Culver City government has made strides in creating a blueprint for greener living, but more can be done.
“It’s an evolving thing,” he said. “I think they’re on the right track, but I haven’t seen that it’s a major priority yet.”
Culver City Environmental and Operations Manager Damien Skinner of the city’s public works department did not return calls for comment on this story.
